


That Damn Weasley Charm

by another_slytherin



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Book 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Complete, Cute Ending, F/M, Fluff and Smut, George Weasley Needs a Hug, Good Slytherins, Gryffindor/Slytherin Inter-House Relationships, Minor Original Character(s), Original Character(s), Sad with a Happy Ending, Slytherin, Slytherin Common Room
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:35:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 197
Words: 337,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27940883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/another_slytherin/pseuds/another_slytherin
Summary: When Violet steps onto the Hogwarts Express for the first time she meets three boys. A pair of twins and their new friend.  But everything goes wrong when she's sorted into a different house than her new friends. Follow Violet on her journey through loss, gain, new friendships, romance, family issues, puberty, but most importantly her Hogwarts experience!
Relationships: George Weasley/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 43





	1. Chapter 1

Uncle Lucius was wrong, finding a seat on the Hogwarts Express is not easy. Especially for a first year. He told me to march right into the Slytherin car and tell everyone who I am, announce my blood status or whatever he goes on about, but I hate that. Absolutely despise the way my uncle and the rest of my family think. That's probably why I'm walking aimlessly down each of the cars of this train looking for an empty compartment.

"oi! You need a place to sit?" a boy's voice calls from behind me. Turning around I see a red-headed boy's head sticking out of one of the compartments.

"Do you mind?" I say, walking tentatively towards him. I wouldn't be surprised if he could sense that my family was who they were and he says that he's joking.

"Nah not at all come on in!" he opens the door more so that I can walk into the compartment and sit beside him. There are two boys opposite him. One of them is the exact replica of the boy beside me while the other one looks nothing like either of them.

"I'm Fred Weasley, that's my brother George." the boy, Fred says from beside me jutting his chin out towards the other red-headed boy, "and that is Lee... it is Lee right?"

The other one, Lee, laughs a bit and nods, "Yeah right on, Lee Jordan. We are all first years so we are just getting acquainted. I'm guessing you're a first-year too?"

I nod and laugh a bit, "please tell me you three are just as nervous as I am." I begin to play with a strand of my long black hair, not really looking at any of the boys.

"Oh not at all. George and I have three older brothers. One of 'em, Bill, has left Hogwarts, Charlie's on his final year, and the other one, Percy, is two years ahead of us." Fred says, "However Bill did tell us once that we have to duel against the other first-years to be sorted into our houses."

"I don't believe that for a second!" Lee chimes in, "My dad told me that we have to wear an old hat that whispers in our ear and reads our minds!"

The three boys all look at me. "What do you think... sorry, we forgot to ask your name," George says after a second.

"oh, my names Violet. Violet LeStrange. My uncle told me its nothing to worry about. The sorting hat does all the work for us."

Fred mumbles something about killing Bill for getting him all worried, Lee laughs in relief. George on the other hand shifts in his seat a bit. "You said your last name is LeStrange? Like he-who-shall-not-be-named right-hand wizard LeStrange?"

Fred and Lee stop almost mid-sentence and look over at me with both disgust and concern. "I uh..." I clear my throat a bit, "um I should probably find somewhere else to sit. Sorry to bother you all. Pleasure meeting you." I grab my bag from beside me and stand up. I reach for the door handle but Fred grabs my hand before I can wrap my fingers around it.

"Don't go. My brother was just being judgmental. It's fine really, we aren't our parents." Fred tugs on my hand a bit and I make eye contact with him. He smiles slightly and nods, I smile back and sit back down beside George.

"Sorry if he made you uncomfortable. Just never met a nice person that was related to the Malfoys you know?" Fred says after I sit down and get comfortable again.

"Oh, it's alright. I'm used to it honestly." I shrug my shoulders a bit. The conversation moves onto what houses the boys expect to be sorted into and what classes they are most excited for. Lee assures me that just because my whole family is Slytherin doesn't mean that I will be sorted into the same house but I seriously doubt it.

Hours later, the four of us are all changed into our robes and slowly making our way off the train. "Is that the castle?" Lee whispers to us once we step onto the platform.

Fred, George, and I all look to where Lee is pointing at. Behind a relatively thick wall of trees and past a lake sits an old castle. Before anyone could say anything a big, burly man calls for the first years.

"Firs' years follow me! Tha's right firs' years this way!" The man calls. A bunch of us break away from the big group of students to follow the man. He leads us to the shore of the lake where many rowboats sit in the water.

"wow..." I whisper to myself. George has a massive smile plastered to his face and he looks from the castle to me with bright eyes, clearly excited.

"No more'n four to a boat!" The man calls from the edge of the water. Lee, Fred, George, and I all scramble to the nearest boat.

George hops in first and turns around to help me. He takes my hand and guides me in "Watch your step there Violet." He says which makes me smile a bit, but not so much that anyone notices. Well at least the twins don't notice because when I sit down in the boat Lee looks at me and wiggles his eyebrows.

The rest of the first years get situated in their boats. The man, who says his name is Hagrid, clambers into the boat furthest in the water. "Right then, Everyone in!?" He turns around to double-check that no one is still on the shore. "Right. Forward!" He bellows. All of the little boats take off at once. Slowly gliding across the otherwise still waters.

"Can you believe that we are going to be staying in a castle?" Fred says quietly. Lee and George shake their heads in disbelief but I'm too focused on the castle to really pay attention to anything they're saying. By the time our little boats hit the shore by the castle, butterflies fill my stomach.

The boys show no sign of worry as we work our way into the castle awaiting the sorting ceremony. Fred and George are certain that they are going to follow in their brothers' footsteps and be put into Gryffindor, while Lee is torn between wanting to be sorted into Ravenclaw like his father or be put in Gryffindor like the twins. I, however, want to be put in anything but Slytherin but I know that if I am put in a different house my Aunt and Uncle will probably burn me out of the family tree.

An older witch is standing in front of the group, I know that she's talking about the sorting ceremony but my brain isn't registering anything that she says. She heads into the door behind her and the group starts to whisper. "Violet. Are you okay?" Fred notices that I'm out of it. I shake my head and force myself to clear my head of all my worries.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, I'm good. Just a little nervous is all. I'm not a fan of attention."

Fred and George nod simultaneously. "Oh, I get that. Don't worry though. You'll be sorted into Gryffindor like Fred and me and we are going to have the best year of our lives." George says reassuringly.

The older witch, George whispers that her name is Professor McGonagall, comes back into the hall and tells us to follow her as she makes her way into the great hall. Already, the four big tables are full of students watching us, whispering, having their own conversations. The ceiling, well lack thereof I guess, is covered in twinkling stars and slow-moving clouds. Thousands of candles hover in the air just below the ceiling. Making the hall feel a lot cozier than it actually is.

The room goes silent as McGonagall steps up to the stool with an old hat resting on top of it. "When I call your name, you will step up, put the hat on, and sit on the stool to be sorted. Alicia Spinnet!" a girl from behind us makes her way through the crowd. She steps up to the stool and sits down. McGonagall places the hat on her head. There's a pause, and then the hat moves, a tear in the brim opens wide and, "GRYFFINDOR" is heard throughout the whole room. One of the tables in the middle shout and burst into applause. Alicia steps down and makes her way towards the table forgetting the hat is on top of her head. McGonagall clears her throat and the girl rushes back the hat in hand, her cheeks red as ever.

One by one the new first years are sorted. There are more Gryffindors, Kenneth Towler and Angelina Johnson, a Hufflepuff boy Cedric Diggory, a new Ravenclaw by the name of Roger Davies, and the first Slytherin of the night Adrian Pucey.

"Lee Jordan!" McGonagall says. Lee looks at us all, Fred pats his back. With a deep breath, Lee steps from the crowd and sits on the stool. Almost as soon as the hat is placed on his head it shouts "GRYFFINDOR!" The table again erupts into cheers, this time, Fred, George, and I cheer with them. Lee jumps off the stool and rushes over to the Gryffindor table.

"Fred Weasley!" Fred and George exchange a look and nod at each other. George steps up instead and plops onto the stool.

The hat stalls. "You are NOT Fred Weasley!" it shouts. The great hall erupts into laughter, including headmaster Dumbledore. George jumps down from the stool and comes running back to the crowd. Fred high-fives his twin and they laugh together.

McGonagall raises her hand to silence the crowd. "Once again! Fred Weasley!" Fred doesn't hesitate this time. He marches up to McGonagall and plops right into the stool. There's slight hesitation from the hat but just like his brothers, Fred is placed in Gryffindor. George and I cheer for him as he goes to sit by two red-headed boys at the Gryffindor table, one can only assume are Charlie and Percy. George is called next, he can be heard mumbling an apology to McGonagall before sitting down on the stool. Just like Fred, the hat stalls before placing him in Gryffindor.

"Violet LeStrange!" McGonagall calls. Murmurs erupt from the Slytherin table, a few of them look up and pay specific attention to me. I slowly make my way up to the stool and sit down. I look out into the room and I can see my three friends smiling at me. Lee gives me the thumbs up and I take a deep breath and close my eyes. The hat doesn't even touch my head before it shouts "SLYTHERIN!"I open my eyes and the far tables start screaming and applauding. Fred, George, and Lee look at me heartbroken almost. Standing up, I walk down from the stool and turn away from the Gryffindor table where all my friends sit watching me, and sit in the middle of a few Slytherins.

"Welcome, Violet! I'm not surprised that you are here. In fact, I'd be surprised if a member of the Black family was placed anywhere but here!" A girl beside me says. I smile gently and zone out of their conversations. I can feel my heart break into a million pieces. I guess I'm no different than the rest of my family.


	2. Chapter 2

Its been two years since I was sorted into my house. And to say that being sorted into Slytherin didn't change the friendships I had before the ceremony would be a lie. That's not to say we didn't try to still be friends because we did. It's just hard to be friends with people that your other friends bully and make fun of you know?

None of that matters right now because at this very moment Aunt Narcissa and Uncle Lucius are helping my cousin Draco and I get our trunks onto the trolleys at Kings Cross Station.

"There's not a doubt in my mind. I'm going to be placed in Slytherin just like you Violet." Draco says as we walk towards platform 9 ¾.

"Oh come now Draco, never mind the sorting ceremony, take your trolly and go through the barrier." Aunt Narcissa said. Draco grabs ahold of his trolly and rushes towards the wall as the rest of us watch to make sure no muggles have noticed. Aunt Narcissa follows behind Draco, then it's my run, and finally, Uncle Lucius follows behind.

It's a quick goodbye for me, given I have done this before. I haul my trunk into the train and make my way towards the unofficial Slytherin car. Draco isn't too far behind me. Instead of finding a compartment on the rest of the train, he forces himself into the same car as me and instantly goes over to his friends Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.

The train pulls away from the station at exactly 11 o'clock. I politely excuse myself from a mindless conversation I was having with a girl in a year above me and walk out of the car in search of a bathroom. I tie my hair up into a ponytail haphazardly and try to push open the bathroom door.

"Angie just went in there, but she shouldn't belong." A familiar voice says from behind me. I smile to myself and turn around.

"Alright there Weasley?" I say smirking at George. He smiles down at his feet and leans on the wall.

"Yeah been good, you?" He looks up at me and butterflies fill my stomach. Definitely not what I need right now. Soon the two of us are sitting on the floor of the train, catching up, talking about everything and anything that has been happening in our lives. Completely forgetting about the bathroom.

"did you hear? Harry Potter is at Hogwarts this year?" George says to me in a half-whisper.

I nod eagerly, George passes me half of a licorice wand before he takes a bite of his half. "My cousin Draco will not shut up about it. He's been going on and on all summer. But I seriously doubt that the boy who lived is going to want to interact with the likes of the Malfoys." I take a bite of the candy wand.

George swallows his candy hard before responding. "You have got to stop doing that Violet. You are more than a name. If you weren't you wouldn't be clogging up the hallway with the likes of me." It gets awkward after that. We just look at each other for a long time.

"Sorry dears please could you go back to your compartments I have to drive the trolly through." The trolly lady says from down the hall. I immediately stand up and straighten out my skirt and blouse. George clumsily stands up from his cross-legged position on the floor.

"I should probably get back. Draco will wonder where I have been and then tell his father all about it." I say as the trolly lady makes her way between us.

"Or you know, you could come back to my compartment. I know Fred and Lee would be delighted to see you again." George says sheepishly, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.

"If I didn't know better Weasley, I would think that you just wanted to spend more time with me," I smirk at him and step across the hall so I'm standing beside him. "I really can't right now, but I hope you know I would if I could. I promise you I'll try and figure out how to spend more time with you lot this year. Stay at Hogwarts for Christmas and things like that." Before he could respond I quickly pecked him on the cheek and rushed back towards my car. I turned around just in time to see George's face flush and a smile spread across his face like an idiot.

Not long after I arrived back in the Slytherin car it was time to change into our robes and get off the train. Draco wraps his arms around me in a hug for about .5 seconds before running off to the lake where the first year boats are waiting. I, on the other hand, make my way to the self-pulling carriages that the other years take to the Hogwarts castle. My friends Clarissa Blythe, Emma Fay, and Walter Clarence rush ahead to ensure they get a good view of the sorting.

"Violet come on! Harry Potter is being sorted this year! Just imagine if he is in Slytherin!" Emma states a little too loudly.

"I forgot my purse on the train. I'll meet you in the castle. Save me a spot I want to see my cousin's sorting." I say back to her. Emma shrugs and runs off towards the carriage. Clarissa looks at me funny but doesn't say anything. Instead, she follows Emma and Walter.

I turn around and walk back towards the train where my favourite redheads are standing. Glancing over my shoulder every so often to make sure no one that knows my family is watching. "I heard there were a few people who were missing me?" I say as I approach the twins and Lee.

Fred and Lee smile big and pull me into a three-way bear hug. "Oh, Violet I've missed you so much!" Lee says pulling away from the hug. "Did you hear? McGonagall finally agreed to let me be the quidditch commentator!"

"Oh goodness. That's not going to go well." I laugh with the three of them. Quidditch is finally going to be interesting.

"Let's go find a carriage. I don't want to miss the sorting." George says suddenly. "Violet, are you coming with us or...?"

The boys' smiles falter slightly waiting for my response. "I'll come with you three if you don't mind of course." Fred's smile grows bigger. He grabs my hand and yanks me towards the line of carriages. The two other boys start running as well.

Fred and Lee jump onto the carriage. George follows behind but reaches out a hand to help me up beside him. Fred kicks George's leg a little when we are settled and wiggles his eyebrows. Lee starts laughing but I don't think much of it.

The conversation moves to quidditch. Fred and George are the Gryffindor beaters this year so they are obviously over the moon. "Violet! You'll come and support us at the games right?" Fred says, interrupting my wandering thoughts.

"Hmm? Oh well, I've never been a huge fan of quidditch. But I guess if Slytherin is playing Gryffindor I'll show up and watch you two in action." I wring my hands a bit. The past few years have been hard, but I managed to sneak away and hang out with the three boys once in a while. But now that my nosey, tattle-tale of a cousin Draco is at Hogwarts it's going to be a lot harder to get away from my fellow Slytherins without someone asking too many questions.

"You can come to all our games! It's Quidditch! The whole school is always at all the games, regardless of who's house is playing!" Lee says enthusiastically.

"Yeah and when Gryffindor isn't playing you can just say you're going to the match but instead we can go hang out by Hagrid's hut or something!" Fred exclaims rather excitedly.

"I'll try definitely. But with my cousin running around and the tension Harry Potter has brought to my Aunt and Uncle it's going to be hard to casually disappear for a few hours." George was silent the whole carriage ride after that. But before I could say anything about his odd behaviour, the carriage came to a stop.

"See you around boys," I say stepping onto the ground in front of the castle. "Try not to forget about me or anything." I half laugh and Lee and Fred smile.

"Don't have to worry about George forgetting you. He's been talking about you all summer." Fred says.

George's eyes flick up from the ground and he stares at his twin with anger. I instantly feel my cheeks heat up.

"Well, best be going. My friends are saving me a seat to watch the sorting. Wish your brother Ron the best for me. I'm sure he's going to make Gryffindor." I clear my throat and head off into the castle. George calls something out to me along the lines of "Thanks have a good year" but I am too far away to really hear what he's trying to say.

I hurry into the great hall. Emma, Walter, and Clarissa wave to me from the top of the table along with a few other Slytherins. "Violet! Nice to see you again. Your cousin's being sorted this year right?" A Slytherin student says to me as I pass them.

"Hi, Adrian. Yeah, my cousin, Draco is being sorted. We are all pretty sure he's going to be in Slytherin." I say back before I continue to make my way to my friends. Emma scooches over so I have room on the bench. Marcus Flint is on the other side of me. He smiles big with his crooked teeth. It takes a lot of effort not to laugh at him. Instead, I smile back and move slightly closer to Emma in a failed attempt to put space between me and Marcus.

McGonagall walks into the hall followed by a group of small first years. I can see red hair and I instantly know its Ron Weasley. Further down the line, I see Draco. I wave and smile at him and he waves back and gives me a thumbs up. "You're cousins a little cocky isn't he?" Walter says, watching Draco march his way up to the sorting hat.

"Oh definitely. He's proud of himself that's for sure." I say back. Walter, who is only a half-blood understands what I mean and nods solemnly. I'm the only person that Walter trusts to know his blood status. When I found him crying in the Slytherin dorms right after were sorted two years ago he told me about his parents. He refused to accept that he actually belonged in Slytherin. It took a whole night of convincing that the sorting hat is never wrong before he finally came to terms with what happened. It's not like there aren't other half-blood and muggle-born Slytherin students, but because pure-blood Slytherins are so hung up on the idea that pure is best there is a lot of hesitation from muggle-born and half-blood wizards and witches to say their true blood status.

McGonagall starts to list off the names of the first years after the sorting hat is done singing. Crabbe and Goyle, along with a girl names Pansy all are sorted into Slytherin and they are met with loud cheering and clapping from all of us. Myself included.

"Ron Weasley!" McGonagall says loudly. The little scruffy red-headed boy makes his way from the crowd. I glance over to the Gryffindor table and make eye contact with George who is sitting with his older brother Percy and Fred. I nod assuringly and he smiles at me.

"God another Weasley? How many of those poor red-headed children are going to attend this school." Clarissa says rolling her eyes. Emma says something to agree with her but I'm not paying attention. The sorting hat yells "GRYFFINDOR" and little Ron Weasley hops up from the stool to join his brothers. George looks at me once Ron has settled in and smiles big. I smile back just as big. Walter kicks me under the table and looks at me with the "what are you doing" face, before turning his attention back to the sorting.

"Draco Malfoy!" Draco's bright blond hair is seen as he almost skips towards the sorting hat. As soon as McGonagall raises the hat above his head it shouts "SLYTHERIN!" Draco hops from the stool and practically runs over to me and my friends.

"See Violet! I told you I would get into Slytherin! I told you!" my friends snort and I laugh, ruffling up his hair.

"I never doubted it for a second, here come sit with me till the sorting is over." I pat the spot between Marcus and me, which has gotten smaller because Marcus has been inching his way closer to me with every name McGonagall yells out, Draco plops himself in between Marcus and I and he leans his head on my shoulder. Draco is a strange little kid. Around his parents, Uncle Lucius specifically, he is very cold and is always aiming to please him. Around me, however, he acts exactly how an eleven-year-old boy should act. Happy, carefree, excited, and slightly clingy.

"Harry Potter!" McGonagall shouts. The room goes quiet, as a scrawny boy pushes to the front of the group.

"Violet see! It's Harry Potter! I spoke to him in the halls but he was to busy talking to the bloody Weasley boy!" Draco says whispering, his eyes wide as he, like the rest of us, watch as the hat is placed on top of his head.

"Draco hush, I'm trying to watch." I playfully place my hand over his mouth and he licks me. "Ugh goodness, you're disgusting." I wipe the spit off my hand using the back of Draco's robes.

The sorting hat takes its time. Honestly, it's one of the longest sortings I've seen in the past three years. "GRYFFINDOR!" it says at last. The table beside ours erupts, the loudest its ever been. Even Headmaster Dumbledore is cheering.

"Bloody hell," Clarissa says to herself. "Wouldn't it have been cool for the Harry Potter to be a Slytherin?" Draco and Emma nod enthusiastically. My friends and I, Draco included zone out for the rest of the sorting. Once the sorting was finally over, the tables filled with food, and plates materialized before us.

"So Draco, what are you most keen on learning this year?" Walter says with a mouthful of potatoes. Draco, on the other hand, swallows his food before responding.

"Well, father says that the most interesting thing is flying lessons. But of course, I've been learning to fly since I was a little kid. Violet and I took lessons when we were really young. Pity that Violet hates quidditch honestly, she's a fantastic flyer." I shove Draco slightly, making him bump into Marcus.

"Violet can fly?" Emma says flabbergasted. "I don't think I've ever seen your feet leave the ground. Besides that one time, a pixie flew right for you in defence against the dark arts and you jumped nearly three feet in the air." The group of us laugh, Draco laughing the loudest.

"Pixies are freaky little buggers okay!" I say in my defence. Walter snorts into his pumpkin juice which only makes us laugh harder. In the midst of the chaos, my eyes wander to the Gryffindor table. Fred, George, Lee, and the other Weasleys are all talking to Harry and the new first years. I make eye contact with George for a split second before blushing and focusing my attention back to the conversation happening around me.

The table finally clears itself once we are all finished eating. Dumbledore steps to the podium and all the talking in the room grinds to a halt. "Ahem, just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start of term notices to give you."

Emma and Clarissa roll their eyes in unison and mouth the words along with Dumbledore, making us all giggle. "First year's should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." Dumbledore's eyes flick towards the twins and I can't help but smirk at the memory of Fred and George running back to me screaming about what they found in the forest.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors." Again I look over at the twins and they are smiling proudly. Percy however, is shaking his head in disapprovingly at whatever the twins were whispering about.

"No magic! No forest! What kind of magical school is this?" Draco whispers from beside me. I look at him sternly to get him to hush up before Dumbledore starts speaking again.

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch." At this, Draco gets excited and starts to bounce in his seat. It takes Walter to explain that no first years ever make the team for him to calm down again.

"And finally! I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." Emma's jaw falls open.

"Die a painful death? What kind of beast is he keeping from us?" She says quite loudly.

"Beats me, but I for one am not about to find out," I say back to her. I look down at Draco beside me. "If I find out you have been snooping anywhere near that corridor I will write to Uncle Lucius to have you taken right out of Hogwarts."

Draco rolls his eyes, "Ugh you're such a buzzkill Violet."

Dumbledore taps his wand on the podium to get everyone's attention again. "Now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" A groan rolls over the crowd, specifically from the six and seven-year students. With a flick of his wand, a golden string of ribbon comes out of Dumbledore's wand and turns into words so everyone can sing along. It sounds absolutely awful, Draco is belting out the words out of tune and far too loud beside me, while Emma and Clarissa are trying far too hard.

We all end at different times, but it's the Weasley twins who are the slowest. They are singing the song to a slow funeral march esc style causing me to stifle my laughter. Once they finally finish I'm red in the face from trying not to laugh. Dumbledore leads us in a round of applause and the twins stand up and bow very dramatically.

"Bloody Weasleys I swear. They think they are so funny." Clarissa says. She and the rest of our group stand from our table and follow our prefect to the dungeon where our common room is located.

Slytherin and Gryffindor meet at the door of the great hall where our Prefect pushes past them aggressively. We follow along, Draco runs off to meet with Crabbe and Goyle. Emma, Clarissa, and Walter break off into their own argument about god knows what. When I pass the twins I make eye contact with George and smile, he does the same. I don't stop look at him till I have to.

When we finally get to the dungeons the Prefect stops in front of the wall that is disguised as our common room entrance. "I'm only going to say this once so first years listen closely. This is our common room entrance. See the scratches on the floor? That's how you can tell that it's here." The prefect moves so we can see the floor that he's standing on. "Just look at the wall and touch this middle brick here. Then just announce your blood status and the door will swing open. It won't open if you are lying, so don't even bother trying to say you're a pure-blood when you're not." The prefect opens the door and allows us all in.

Emma, Clarissa, Walter, and I make a beeline for the worn, black leather couches positioned by the fireplace. I've been told that all common rooms have a fire pit. Ours, however, is constantly full of emerald green flames that the first generation of Slytherins bewitched. The floors are cobblestone but they are covered in big shaggy silver and green rugs making it feel a lot cozier. The walls are cobblestone too, covered in portraits of the most famous Slytherin witches and wizards. They offer some great advice if you ask for it honestly. The wall to the back isn't a wall at all actually. It's all glass and looks into the great lake. Mermaids tend to swim pass and if they like you, they'll play a game of tic-tack-toe with you on the fogged glass. On either side of the common room are long hallways, one leading to the girls' dormitory and one leading to the boys. Each hallway is lined with torches that are lit with green flames. The common room cat jumps up onto the chair that Clarissa is sitting in.

"Get away from me fleabag!" Clarissa shrieks and shoves the old, black cat away from her. No one really knows who the cat belongs to, it's been living in our common room for as long as anyone can remember.

Once the prefect is done with the tour of the common room Draco comes over to us and sits beside me. "Is it true that the giant squid swims past our common room Violet?"

Emma and Walter laugh from the other couch. "Yeah, he stops by quite often. Don't worry though. It's not as scary as it sounds. Now go find your dorm room and head to sleep. Your first day of classes is tomorrow and I don't want to hear about you being tired." I peck Draco on the forehead and send him off to bed with the other first years. There are only a few students in the common room now. Walter gets up, wishes us a good night and heads into the boys' dorms.

Slowly but surely each of us heads into our dorms till it's just me left in the common room. The cat beside me stretches before it hops off the couch and walks into the boys' dorm. I get up from the couch, stretch out my back, grab my robes that I've already taken off and make my way into my room. Like our common room, the far wall of each of the dorms is glass, allowing us to see into the Great Lake. It also gives our room a light green glow even with no candles lit. Clarissa and Emma are already asleep while my other two dorm mates Henrietta and Miriam are sitting on their respective four-poster beds whispering quietly. I nod at them before quietly making my way towards my own bed. Changing quickly into my pyjamas, I climb into bed and draw the curtains around my bed for a little bit of privacy.

My mind wanders to the Weasley twins. George in particular. While we have been friends for what feels like ages, something has changed this year. I get butterflies in my stomach and chest every time he looks at me. That's normal right? Just means we are best friends and I'm excited to see him... Right?


	3. Chapter 3

About a week has passed since the sorting. It was the last time I saw the twins or Lee. Or anyone except my dormmates, Draco, and Walter. Third-year is full of more homework than both first and second-year combined. I've been sitting in the common room at one of the desks nearly all afternoon (thank goodness I planned my schedule so I have Friday afternoons off) writing three feet of parchment about the difference between detectible and undetectable potions for Snape. I know that if I ask for an extension he will be more than happy to give it to me, but the fact that he favours us to the other houses makes me uncomfortable.

The common room door creeks open and I can hear Draco complaining to his small group of friends. "Violet!" He calls out, nearly making me spill my inkpot. Before I have the chance to actually spill something I pack my work away and wait for Draco to make his way over to me. "Violet! That Harry Potter is absolutely terrible! All potions class I was trying to get his attention but he wouldn't look away from that damn Weasel boy and Granger." Draco plops onto the couch not too far from where I'm sitting.

"Draco! Watch your language!" I reach over and lightly hit him on the top of his head. "And don't be a bully. The Weasleys haven't done anything to you. It's your father that hates them." Oops. I've done it now. Just dig yourself deeper into the hole you're trying to get out of there Violet why don't you.

Draco sits up and turns his whole body around so he's facing me. "DON'T BULLY THE WEASLEYS!?" Draco says mockingly. "Father will hear about that one for sure Violet. Don't bully the Weasleys my goodness. You've gone soft, you really have." I move from the desk to the couch to sit beside my cousin.

"All I'm saying is that until they have done something to hurt or make fun of you, you do not have the right to bully them. Bully with reason, not just because you can." Draco rolls his eyes so hard I thought they might get stuck in the back of his head.

"They are insulting me! Pure-bloods talking to Mud-Bloods! What a disgrace to the wizarding world!" Students that were in the common room all look over to Draco and me when he says that word. Some of them who I know are muggle-born quietly excuse themselves from the room and make their way either into their dorms or out into the hall entirely. The pure-bloods that think the same way as Draco mumble in agreement.

"DRACO MALFOY when you are speaking to me you will NOT use that word. When you are having a civil conversation you will NOT use that word! How dare you believe that muggle-born witches and wizards are any better than you?" I can feel my cheeks heat up with anger. I love my family with my whole heart but there is a line that has to be drawn and Draco has crossed it.

"Yes yes okay fine. I won't use it around you. But father lets me use it. Even mother doesn't bat an eye! It's what people like them should be called!" Draco gets up and storms off into his dorm like a little child throwing a tantrum. The rest of the common room murmurs to each other before turning their attention away from me and back to their individual tasks.

Shoving my parchment, quill, ink, and my books into my shoulder bag in go to the common room door and step out of the Slytherin dorms. Anger still bubbles inside of me as I rush out of the dungeons. After a while of aimlessly walking through the halls, I found myself outside by the lakeshore. I plop down beside a tree and lean my head back with a sigh.

"All right there Violet?" I hear someone say from a little ways away. I open my eyes and instantly a smile spreads on my lips.

"Alright. What about you George?" I call back. I sit up a bit, correcting my posture.

George gets closer and shrugs. "Could be a lot worse, could be a lot better." He sits beside me, leans his head on the tree. Realizes he can't see me in that position and moves awkwardly, causing me to laugh. "Ah see? That's the carefreeness that I miss so much."

I shake my head at his comment and relax my posture slightly. "Well, how would you feel after telling off your little cousin for using the M-word?" I look over at George who has a furrowed brow. Once he realizes what word I was talking about, confusion is replaced with anger and concern.

"Who did he call the M-word?" I shake my head, not wanting to continue this conversation but George persists. "Violet. Who did he call that word?"

I sigh, one thing that sucks about being friends with George Weasley is that he will not stop till he gets the whole truth out of a person. "He didn't call anyone the word exactly. He just got mad that certain pure-blood wizards interact with muggle-born folk. He's just like his father in that way and it makes me so mad."

George takes a moment before he responds. It's a rare sight. A Weasley that isn't Percy, thinking before he speaks. "Who's family was he talking about?" he looks from his hands to my eyes. Apparently my face said it all. "Oh... right then," he says quietly.

I move from the tree so I'm sitting cross-legged in front of him. Our knees touching. I take his hands in mine so he looks at me. "Don't you think for a single second that I feel the same way as my family. None of that nonsense matters. You and your family are beautiful souls." I let the words hang in the air. The silence between us isn't awkward like it was before. It's nice. Comforting. We sit like that for a long while. Listening to the waves hit the shore, the wind and the birds, the distant yelling of Hooch's flying class.

"Are you going on the Hogsmeade trip tomorrow?" George says suddenly. "It's the first one of the year. You can't miss it."

"I uh, yeah I am. I need to pick up a few things for Draco. He forgot a quill and ink and Uncle Lucius and Aunt Narcissa are travelling right now and can't send him anything from home.

George nods, then smiles really wide. "You can spend the whole day with Fred, Lee and I! Lee doesn't have his slip signed the little bugger forgot. But we can take the hidden path to Honeydukes! And that way, no Slytherin will see us!" George squeezes my hands tight. "Please say yes."

"I just- hidden pathway? What are you on about now?"

George lets go of my hands and wipes them on his trousers. "Nope, I've said too much. Just meet us at the statue of Gunhilda Gorsemoore. You know, the one-eyed witch?" George stands up and gives me his hand so I can stand up too.

"Yeah alright. I'll meet you there. But I swear to Merlin if you get me in trouble for breaking the rules George Weasley."

George smiles that crooked smile of his so I know that this plan is not at all thought out. "Relax Vi. You're only breaking the rules if you get caught." He reaches down for my bag and hands it to me, and with a swift kiss on the cheek and a wink, he heads off back to where ever he came from.

"It's that damn Weasley charm I swear to Merlin," I mumble to myself, my cheeks hot and my heartbeat fast. The dinner bell rings from inside the castle so I turn to head into the great hall with the rest of the students in the surrounding field. It doesn't take too long to get from the lake to the great hall but by the time I get there all the tables are full and the plates have started to appear. I pass Draco and his friends sitting together and I ruffle his hair as I pass. He looks at me annoyed so I know that he's clearly still mad at me for calling him out earlier today.

I join my friends on the benches. We are sitting on the inner side of the table which means we are basically back to back with the Gryffindors, a few special Gryffindors in particular. Walter is the only Slytherin that knows I hang out with the Weasley twins and by the look on his face when I sit down I can tell he chose this spot for that specific reason. I smile and thank him silently. I purposely nudge the backs of Fred and George as I sit.

Fred who has clearly been having a rough day, turn around aggressively, "Watch yourself Slytherin." He says harshly before he really notices who it was that bumped into him.

"Better watch yourself Gred," I say with a wink. Specifically using an inside nickname that also sounds a lot like me teasing them.

Dinner started off uneventful. George kept talking quite loudly about their plans for tomorrow. Well minus the whole one-eyed witch thing. "Those damn Weasleys never shut up," Clarissa says loudly. The twins (and Lee) turn around and look at her, Clarissa scrunches up her nose and sticks her tongue out at them.

"Real adult-like Clarissa. What are you going to do next? Launch some of your mashed potatoes at the back of their heads?" I say casually. Fred and George snort behind me which only makes me laugh at my own joke.

"Don't tell me you're defending them LeStrange." A Slytherin a few seats down decides to chime in.

"Best keep my name out of your mouth when I don't even know yours." I snap at him, my wand hand lowers to my pocket and my fingertips graze the yew handle.

"What are you going to do about it? Write to mummy? Does she still get the post in Azkaban?" the boy responds his hand in his pocket, clearly holding his wand.

"Now you've done it," Emma says angrily. She stands up from her spot on the bench, wand drawn. I pull her back down to her seat before she does something she's going to regret.

"Who even let you into Slytherin anyways? Just a dirty little mud-blood is what you are." Clarissa fires back at him. That shuts him up. The stranger hunches over and goes back to his dinner. "I mean seriously. When did Slytherin become a place for people like that? I know the sorting hat doesn't make mistakes but that's a Hufflepuff if I've ever seen one." The Slytherins around us start laughing. Walter half laughs with them and I do the same.

After dinner, Walter and I rush out of the great hall and down to the common room. Ever since that first night, Walter decided to never enter the common room by himself. We made a pact him and I, to be each other's, unofficial secret keepers. I always let him into the common room so no one would know his blood status, and he wouldn't say anything about my relationship with the Weasleys to anyone. Since that day, Walter has become one of my closest friends. We tell each other everything, as long as we know we are the only two awake in the dorms that is.

I place my fingertips on the middle brick and state "Pure-blood". The bricks shift under my touch and Walter and I move back to allow the wall to part and the door to swing open. We step in and climb down the three steps into the common room. Instantly the fireplace lights, warming the room and giving it a beautiful green glow.

"Violet my good dear. I heard something happened at dinner tonight?" the portrait of Merlin says as Walter and I pass it.

"Nothing too out of the ordinary Merlin. But I'll let you know if a real fight ever breaks out. Just like we promised." I look up at the portrait. Merlin seems to be satisfied with that answer and he goes back to reading one of the books he's posed with. Walter and I make our way to the very back of the room, right beside the exposed lake. It's a little colder over here so there are plenty of knitted blankets on a chair in the corner. The blankets, like almost everything in the common room, is linked to the first generation of Slytherin students. Back when the common room wasn't as welcoming as it is now, the first graduating class of Slytherins knitted blankets for the common room, then put a spell on them that made them warmer and last forever.

Walter watches the seaweed sway in the current as I grab one of my textbooks from my bag and begin to study. It's a while till the common room door opens again, loads of Slytherins file in and go about their nightly tasks, whether that be homework or gossip. Clarissa and Emma march right over to Walter and me.

"Emma says that there's a good chance Gryffindor is going to win the house cup this year because Dumbledore is obsessed with that Potter kid. Violet tell her she's wrong." Clarissa says. She sits down beside me and rests her head on my shoulder in exhaustion. I laugh and cover her with the blanket that's wrapped around my lap.

"I'm not wrong, it's true! That Dumble-bore is always talking about how utterly fantastic Potter is! Like seriously, he has a scar on his forehead and that's about it!" Emma grabs a blanket from the basket that they are usually kept in and sits on the carpet in front of the couch.

"It's quite literally only been a week since classes started. There is absolutely no way that Gryffindor is already in the lead. Calm down. Slytherin has won how many years in a row?" I say looking at Emma.

"Six times. And it better be seven. I don't need my name besmirched by a group of Godric's people" The portrait of Salazar says from the wall beside us. Without waiting for a response he walks off the frame and we see him appear in one of his portraits on the other side of the common room, clearly over our conversation.

The night ended relatively early. And by that, I mean me and all my dormmates were in bed by about 10 pm. There was talk about the Hogsmeade trip tomorrow. Clarissa and Emma would not shut up about shopping. Henrietta says she'd rather sleep in, and Miriam is making a list of all of her younger friends that she's buying candy for.

"What about you Violet? What do you plan on doing when you get to Hogsmeade?" Miriam says after she finishes her list.

"I'm honestly thinking I'll just spend the day in the library. I seriously messed up my transfiguration essay and McGonagall is giving me until Monday to get it sorted." A lie. But what else was I supposed to say? Oh, you know the usual. Going to meet 'blood traitors' at the one-eyed witch and take a secret path to Honeydukes. Just your run of the mill Saturday afternoon plans.

The girls looked at me weird, they all know that I have never once messed up on a single piece of homework but they didn't question my story. It doesn't take long for the room to quiet down and the quiet snores of my friends fill the silence. The gentle sound of the lake water moving against the glass panes behind my headboard.

It's difficult for me to fall asleep tonight. The thought of spending the whole day with George... and Fred and Lee of course. But mostly George. Flood my mind. But those thoughts are always interrupted with Draco saying the M word, and then Clarissa doing the same thing to another Slytherin student of all people. I don't know what changed. But this year something inside me snapped. The past two years I have been so worried about what others think of me, what my family thinks of me. But that boy at dinner was right. My mother is in Azkaban, why do I care what she thinks? She never put me first so why am I putting her first? Not to mention my Aunt and Uncle. Who think the same way as almost every other pretensions pureblood family out there.

I shouldn't say this, not even in my head. But I know that my family is tied tightly to the Dark Lord, and I know what that looks like to people who aren't attached to him, for those who didn't grow up looking at the dark mark. For your Aunt and Uncle to question your real paternal figure because your mother was so devoted to the Dark Lord himself. It's a lot of pressure. To be just like your family. Not to tarnish the family name. The only other person that I know of that has the ability to feel this way is Draco, but I feel as if it is already too late for him. Apparently, I dose off sometime in the night despite my brain running a mile a minute because when I open my eyes, the lanterns are lit around the room and the dim sunlight is shining through the water.


	4. Chapter 4

As we all make our way into the great hall for breakfast, Walter pulls me away from the rest of the group. "Don't lie to me, Vi. Where are you actually going today? Because Clarissa says you're not going to Hogsmeade because you have to fix a roll of parchment or something for McGonagall..." I try to walk away from him mid-sentence but he grabs ahold of my wrist and spins me around to face him. "And I know that's a lie because I'm in your transfiguration class and we haven't had any essays assigned to us yet."

"Alright fine! You don't have to hold onto me so tight you know." Walter lets go of my wrist sheepishly. "I'm going to Hogsmeade just not with the rest of the third years. That's all I'm saying no matter what you do to me alright? Just promise you won't go looking for me while we are there. I don't need Emma and Clarissa, and the rest of them to see why I lied." Walter smiles and his eyes sparkle so I already know what he's going to say.

"You're going with the Weasley twins! Oh goodness, Violet please don't tell me you fancy one of them. Imagine how hard that will be to hide from the rest of the house. You'll have to hide it from the Gryffindors too. Bunch of pretentious arses if you ask me but the twins seem nice enough. They're friend Lee is kind of... never mind."

I put my hands on Walter's shoulders to calm him down. "Will you stop it! Someone is going to hear you. My god Walter! Even if I did fancy one of them, which I DON'T, I wouldn't hide it from anyone."

Walter stops and looks at me, I slowly take my hands off his shoulders. He nods at me and we make our way into the great hall. "I bet its George, isn't it? The one you fancy?" Walter whispers to me. I scrunch up my nose and try to look disgusted, but as soon as I see George at the Gryffindor table my heart melts a bit and my face softens up. George looks at me and smiles big, his mouth clearly full of eggs and sausage. "Oh yeah. Definitely George. And by the looks of things, he fancies you too." Walter laughs and dashes away from me so I can't hit him for his comment.

After breakfast, the majority of the students from each house rush out of the dining hall to meet Professor McGonagall and some other teachers in the courtyard so they can go to Hogsmeade. I stay back and wave to my friends as they all rush out of the hall. Soon after, the entire hall was empty except for the twins, Lee, and I.

"You can't be serious Violet. You're still in your school uniform? It's a Saturday for crying out loud." Lee says to me once the room is fully empty

"Alright okay, I'll go change. See you by the witch in... dunno lets say half an hour?" I stand up and cross over to where the boys are sitting at their table.

"I mean, we could just have you meet us at our common room. That way we don't have to stand in the freezing cold forever." Fred suggests.

"Ah, I dunno about that one there Freddy. Can we really trust a Slytherin to know where the Gryffindor commons are?" George says jokingly. I hit him on the back of his head and laughs. "Alright, no need to get testy Violet. The common room is on the seventh floor behind the portrait of the fat lady." George gets close to me as if the room is full of listening ears. "the password is Caput Draconis."

I move away from the boys and look at them. "You've got to be joking? That's your password? I wish ours was just a funny little word."

"I'd suggest that we meet you in the Slytherin common room but I'd rather not go into the dark and wet dungeons," Lee says sarcastically.

"Really Lee. Some of the most pretensions, rich, pure-blood wizards have children in the Slytherin house. Do you really think they would allow their children to live in a dark, wet dungeon? Our common room is actually really homey and cozy." I smile at their confused faces. "Nevertheless, I'll see you all once I've gotten changed."

Back in the Slytherin dorms, I pop open my trunk and rummage through my street clothes. I have two different styles. The first is very, very posh looking. Like stuck up rich that only ever wears high heels and long skirts. And then there are the street clothes that I actually want to wear. The muggles call it 'grunge'? I think I'm saying that word properly. If any of the Malfoys saw me in muggle street clothes I'd definitely be burned out of the family tree. No ifs ands or buts about it. I hop into an oversized pair of ripped blue jeans, throw on a white, form-fitting tank top, and wrap a red and black plaid shirt around my waist. I quickly brush out my long, black hair and pull on a knitted beanie. Finishing the look off with some Doc Martens I grab my coin pouch that I bewitched to hold a lot more than just coins, and I threw on my school robe. Just in case there was someone in the common room.

I open the door to my room quietly and double-check the hallway to make sure no one is lurking about. Then in one quick dash to the common room door, I was out and on my way to the seventh floor. As soon as I hit the stairwell I take off my Slytherin robe and stash it in my coin purse. "Bloody hell. Seven flights of stairs just for their common room? Gryffindors are barking mad I tell you." I say to myself as I climb the final flight of stairs. I look around for the fat lady's portrait which honestly wasn't that hard to spot. All I had to do was follow the shrieking noise that sounded like someone was being murdered.

"Caput Draconis," I say breathing hard. But the lady was not paying attention in the slightest. Her eyes are closed and her mouth is wide open. I genuinely hope she's not trying to sing. "um, excuse me? Ma'am? I said Caput Draconis."

The fat lady finally stops doing whatever she is doing and looks at me. "hmm never seen you here before. But I honestly can't recognize anyone in their street clothes. Alright hop on in." she says. Her painting swings off the wall and I step into the hole it was covering. Instantly I am hit with the smell of burning wood and cinnamon.

Gryffindors' common room is smaller than Slytherins I can tell you that one for free. There's a lot of red and gold everywhere, a little much for my taste. But the armchairs are overstuffed and look a lot more welcoming than our old leather couches. The fire also burns the normal colour in here. Which makes sense because fire is already the Gryffindor colours.

"Violet?" I look up and see the twins staring at me from a pathway on the next floor.

"Well, boys are you going to give me a tour or are you just going to stand there and look at me?" Fred hits George's arm and George snaps back into reality. The two of them head down the steps together and meet me in the middle of the common room.

"This is our fire pit, these are our chairs. Over there are some portraits, that way you have some desks. And you've already met the fat lady." Fred says slowly spinning around the room pointing in every direction.

I move closer to the fire and sit down in one of the big red armchairs. Instantly I sink like two inches down into the chair. "Where's Lee? Isn't he the reason we have to do this super-secret pathway business?" Before the twins could answer two doors slam shut from above. Then the sound of feet hitting the stone. Two first-years burst from the bottom of the stairwell. One of them clearly being Ron Weasley.

"Oh good, you haven't left. Can you buy me some sherbet lemons?" Ron says out of breath.

"Yeah gotta give me the money for them though," Fred says with his hand out.

Ron groans, "Oh come off it you know I haven't a knut to my name."

I stand up from the chair I am sitting in and clearly startle the two first years. Only then do I notice that the boy beside Ron is actually Harry Potter himself. "Don't worry, I can pick some up for you. I have to stop by and grab some sweets for Draco and his friends anyways."

Ron and Harry look at each other for a second before looking at me. "I'm sorry but buy some for Draco and his friends? Who are you?" Harry says. He doesn't mean to sound rude and I know that, but I still take a slight offence.

"My names Violet LeStrange. I'm Draco's cousin and a friend of Fred and George." Ron looks from me to his brothers, and back to me before he realizes what's going on.

"George! You cannot just give the Gryffindor password to a girl you fancy! Especially when that girl is in Slytherin!" George reaches for his wand, probably getting ready to hex his brother while Fred goes red in the face from laughing. Lee comes down the stairs just at the right time.

"What's all this then?" Lee says, looking at a very angry George, and a crying Fred. "Violet wow barely recognized you. You look good in street clothes. Doesn't she George." Lee notices my cheeks flush and winks at me. But before Lee could say anything George turns his wand towards Lee.

"Steleus!" George says Lee starts sneezing instantly.

"Oh god" *ACHOO* "This isn't" *ACHOO* "Funny. I'll Get" *ACHOO* "you for this one day" *ACHOO*

"Okay let's head out, we've wasted enough time blubbering like idiots already," Fred says wiping away a tear from his cheek. A quick wave goodbye to Harry and Ron and the four of us head out of the Gryffindor common rooms and make our way to the one-eyed witch.

Fred and Lee are ahead a bit, Lee is still sneezing, which causes Fred to erupt in a fit of giggles every so often. Leaving George and me in the back. "What Ron and Lee said back in the common room. It's not true you know. I don't fancy you." George says sort of quietly.

My heartbeat starts to pick up speed. I can't leave the silence for too long or else it gets awkward. Do I actually tell him the truth that I fancy him or do I just leave it hidden away? I think of what Walter would tell me at this moment. "Goodness Violet if you do not march your arse over to that red-haired boy and tell him exactly how you feel right this very second I might just combust into real flames." His voice echoes in my head.

I take a deep breath to calm my nerves. "Well isn't that a shame then Weasley. Because I certainly fancy you." The footsteps beside me stop. I turn around and George is stuck in place. "Oh don't act like someone cast a stickfast hex on you." George doesn't say anything, he just stands there looking at me.

I take two steps towards him so our noses are nearly touching. "I said what I said George and I'll say it as many times as it takes to work its way into your thick skull. I fancy you quite a bit. Have for the past year or so now that I think about it. Now, will you please for the love of Merlin, pick up your feet and start walking?"

"You're not just pulling my leg are you because you'd be surprised with how many people have pulled a trick like that on me in the past. When I was really little my brother Charlie paid our neighbours daughter a whole Galleon to tell me that she fancied me. It really doesn't feel good you know. To be tricked like that and I really don't thi.." I peck him on the cheek to get him to stop talking and breathe for a second.

"I don't pull those kinds of jokes Weasley. Take it as you will. Take time to think about it for all I care but please can we not think right now? I want to go to Hogsmeade." George nods his head slowly and we start to walk towards the statue again. By now Fred and Lee are already standing there waiting for us.

Without saying a single word., or even looking at me for that matter, George moves his hand closer to mine and wraps his fingers in between my own, holding my hand.


	5. Chapter 5

Going to Hogsmeade through the secret tunnel the boys found was fun. Coming back is exhausting. The trip consisted of George and I side by side the whole time as Fred and Lee made fun of us very dramatically. That and hiding from Hogwarts staff and people that know us. Once we got everything we needed to get, including Draco's quill and ink, along with Ron's sherbet lemons, and a bunch of stuff for us, we decided it was time to head back to Hogwarts.

"So like. Are you guys, dating or something?" Fred says as we hike through the secret tunnel. He turns around to face us and starts walking backwards so he can keep up with Lee.

"Uhh, dunno," George says back. He looks at me to say something but he decides against it. The truth is I haven't thought about what was going to happen either. I still have to keep quiet about who my actual friends are around my Slytherin friends and George, well he doesn't care about his reputation at all. I say I don't care about it either but after living with the Malfoys practically my whole childhood, it feels like I have a name to uphold.

The rest of the walk is relatively quiet. Fred and Lee are far enough away that we can't hear their conversation. George and I are quiet, which allows my mind to run wild. Which definitely isn't a good thing. My first thought is "at least I don't fancy a muggle-born" then I shut that thought out of my mind because it blood status doesn't matter. Then I thought "well it matters to Uncle Lucius so if Draco tells him I've been sneaking around with a Gryffindor, at least he's a pure-blood". But that only allowed for me to think about the look on Uncle Lucius' face when he realizes that he's a Weasley and I've tarnished the family name by simply associating with "a damned red-headed blood traitor and his spawn" Uncle's words, not mine.

"Oi, you want a jelly slug," George says, nudging me with his shoulder slightly, taking me away from my thoughts and back into the real world.

"Ugh gross, how do you even eat those," I say jokingly.

George rolls up his sleeves, holds the slug candy out in front of him and rather aggressively shoves it in his mouth. "Jus' like. That." He says, his mouth full.

By the time we reach the entrance of the tunnel George has nearly finished all his sweets, all except his Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans. "Gotta save these for the common room activities. The Gryffindors normally buy one box each, pour them into a big cauldron and play a game that definitely does not include underage drinking by any chance." George flicks his nose and winks at me and I laugh.

After making our way out of the tunnel, I pull my Slytherin cloak out of my coin purse and put it on, concealing what I'm wearing underneath. George snatches the beanie off my head and puts it on. "Might have to keep this there Violet. Dunno when I'm gonna see you next." He pecks me on the cheek and runs ahead to catch up with Fred and Lee. Not before turning around and waving at me one last time.

I make my way back to the dungeons and go into the common room. A few Slytherin students are milling about and look over when I walk in. I rush to my dorm and quickly change.

"Violet! Did you get me what I asked for!" Draco comes bursting into my room as I was fixing my tie.

"Slow down, I mean seriously who is chasing you?" Draco plops onto my bed and waits relatively patiently for me to pull his goodies out of the Honeydukes bag. "How was your day?" I ask, sitting beside him on my bed, snagging one of his liquorice wands from his hand.

"Absolutely horrible! Did you head that that dam Potter boy is the new Gryffindor seeker? Not that I care of course because I hate him." Draco takes a big bite of his liquorice before he continues. "But if it wasn't for me taking Longbottom's Remembrall and then throwing it halfway across the quidditch training field then he never would have made the team." He finishes off his candy and swallows hard. "So really it's because of me that McGonagall put him on the team. But of course, he doesn't see that because he's too obsessed with the damn Weasley."

I laugh to myself, watching Draco get flustered because Harry Potter won't be his friend is honestly my favourite pastime. "So you're mad because he won't be your friend..?" I question gently.

Draco just throws himself backwards on my bed and groans. "You don't get it! I hate the man!" He lies there for quite some time before he gets up off my bed and stands up. "Thanks for the candy. And the quill I guess but if I'm being honest I'm going to miss Pansy writing out all my notes for me." And in a very Draco like fashion he twirls throws his robes behind him and marches out of the room.

It's about an hour or so before Clarissa, Emma, Henrietta, and Miriam come into the room. I open my transfiguration book in attempts to hide the bag of candy but it was no use at all. "Where'd you get that Violet?" Clarissa says. She steps over to my bed and pulls the bag out from under my book cover.

"Snatched it off a Hufflepuff. No real reason honestly. Their face was just annoying me." The answer seems to please Clarissa because she laughs and puts the bag back on my bed. They start unpacking all of the things they bought and filling me in on what they did in Hogsmeade.

"Have you ever seen a drunk house elf? Oh, Violet, I'm telling you, you have to feed Dobby a butterbeer. Those dumb creatures will do anything if you show them a bit of kindness. The thing practically drank it out of my hands when I offered. Then it ran around stumbling and hiccupping!" Henrietta says between her laughter. Clarissa and Emma join in talking loudly about how amusing it was. Miriam sat on her bed and started to carefully separate her candy haul and wrapped each package. Her quill floating in the air beside her, ready to write the names of the recipients on the gift tags.

"Did Walter come back with you all?" Clarissa nods and gestures to the common room. I grab my transfiguration book and walk out of the dorms and into the common room. I find Walter by the lake, a few mermaids have gathered around him as he fogs up the glass and draws a little stick figure. When I approach all the mermaids to scatter.

"How was the library?" Walter says. He pats the couch cushion beside him and I sit down cross-legged, facing him. He throws some of his blankets over my lap.

"It was pretty good. I told the librarian how I felt about the new chairs..." I say slowly, really hoping he takes the hint.

It definitely takes him a minute. Walter is a lot of things but smart isn't necessarily one of them. His eyes go wide once he figures out what I am trying to tell him. "Shut up. What did the librarian do?" Walter leans back onto the couch arm and tilts his head like a curious dog.

"Well at first the comment wasn't taken very well. But it didn't take long for the librarian to do something about it and the- okay I can't do this anymore, come with me" I grab Walters wrist and drag him to the hallway outside the common room. We rush down the hallway to an empty classroom not too far away.

"Okay," I say as I close the door behind me. Walter sits on top of the professor's desk, clearing excited. I retell the story to the best of my ability. Trying hard not to leave out a single bit of my day. Walter is ecstatic by the end of it.

"Wait so are you just going to start hanging out with him all the time now?" I sit down at a nearby desk and put my head in my hands. I tell him all about my intrusive thoughts while we were on our way back from Hogsmeade.

"Wow. That is a lot of information all at once." Walter gets up from the desk he was sitting on and moves over to me. He crouches by the desk I'm sitting at so we are eye level. "It's only the first week of school. Just focus on your grades for now. If something happens then great. If not, there are quite a few good looking Slytherins that have noticed you recently." His comment makes me smile. Together we walk back into the common room and head our separate ways into our respective dorms.

At dinner, I notice that George has stuffed my beanie in the back pocket of his trousers which makes me feel loads better about the situation somehow. Clarissa chooses an empty spot on the opposite side of the great hall from the Weasleys, clearly still annoyed with their behaviour yesterday. Dinner thankfully involves normal conversation. Mostly about classwork but Walter throws in a few quidditch comments here and there.

"When is the first quidditch match anyways?" I ask cutting off a piece of sausage. "Draco wants to go and complain the whole time that Harry Potter is on the team."

"Beginning of November. The first game is Slytherin and Gryffindor. It's going to be a great match I can feel it." Walter says clearing off his plate and reaching for more salad.

"Can you also feel the extra like 12 pounds you just put on. Goodness Walter, how much do you eat?" Emma says jokingly.

"Oi," Walter says, pointing his fork at Emma. "Winters coming soon, I have to make sure I'm warm enough." The whole group roars in laughter. Clarissa chokes on her pumpkin juice which only makes us laugh so much harder. The group of seventh years that are sitting nearby look at us funny and its like the icing on the top of the cake. For the rest of the night, the four of us are giggling non-stop. Even when our heads hit our pillows at around 11 pm, I can still hear Emma stifling laughter.

"I have to fatten up for the winter," I whisper which causes Clarissa to snort, and Emma giggle. 

"That boy is right stupid I swear."


	6. Chapter 6

The last time I properly saw George was the first week of school. Now its nearly Halloween. I follow the Slytherins into the great hall for breakfast and before I can even sit down Draco is running over to me, the look on his face says it all. The boys upset about Harry Potter again.

"Violet! Harry and Weasley, and and.." he takes a deep breath, "and Hermione Granger are still at school!" Draco is panting, his face is red hot. Both from running all the way from the common room and also with anger.

"Of course they're still at school Draco don't be daft," I respond quite snarkily. Clarissa laughs from behind me and takes a seat.

"No, you don't understand! They- they were in the halls past curfew! I saw them!"

Now it's my turn to be angry. "You saw them! What did you casually forget the Hogwarts rules all of a sudden. I swear to Merlin I'm going to have your head."

Draco goes redder than before. "Well see. I told Harry that I was going to duel him. It was nothing really. Anyways I told him to meet me, you know what? Doesn't matter where I said I was going to meet him. Anyways I told Filch that I overheard Harry and his awful friends say that they were going to sneak out of their dorm last night so that they will get in trouble and get kicked out of school. Brilliant plan wasn't it?" Draco half smiles but when he sees that I'm not smiling with him it quickly fades away.

"Such a brilliant plan that Potter and his friends are sitting over at the Gryffindor table right now! Seriously Draco mind your business!" I huff and sit down beside Clarissa who is still giggling at the whole conversation.

Draco squeezes in between Clarissa and me so he can keep talking to me. "Well, it was supposed to work! But no. McGonagall favours him. She does you know." Draco says matter of factly.

"Of course she favours him! She's the head f Gryffindor house. Just like Snape favours us!" I roll my eyes and reach for some toast that's passing by on a hovering tray.

Owls begin to fly in from the windows with the morning post. Our family owl, Nutmeg, lands in front of Draco and I. I reach out and take the letters from her mouth. I break off a piece of my toast and give it to her. She brushes against my hand and flies off back to the owlery.

Draco snatches the letter for him out of my hand and tears it open. Ignoring the letter, he pulls out the galleon that was in the envelope and stashes it in his pocket.

"Bloody hell!" Walter says, still looking at the open window. About six owls are flying in with a rather large package. They drop it onto the Gryffindor table and fly out. Walter turns back around to face us and the four of us start talking about the upcoming test in herbology about puffapods. I assume Draco gets bored because he hugs me with one arm before dashing away.

"Herbology is a stupid course in my opinion. I mean seriously. Who in their life is ever going to need to know how to properly handle a puffapod so it doesn't bloom as soon as you touch it." Emma says. She's pouring over her notes from herbology in a last-ditch effort to study.

"Trolls are allergic to them. Might come in handy if you ever see a troll I guess." I respond, reaching over for the jug of orange juice.

"Ugh!" Emma groans and slams her herbology book closed, the parchment with her notes in it sticks out from all sides. "How do you remember everything! I swear Violet you're the smartest witch in Slytherin."

"Violet's dumber than a door handle. No offence love." Clarissa pats me on the arm. " She just pays attention in class unlike you. Looking at your reflection in the spade instead of actually using it." Clarissa says. Emma swats her arm and we all laugh.

The week leading up to Halloween was uneventful. In charms, we began studying the freezing charm which didn't end well for a few of the Ravenclaw students the third year Slytherins have class with.

On Halloween morning the whole castle smelt of baking pumpkins. Clarissa, Emma, Walter, and I decided to bum off classes for the day.

"Don't worry, I've done this loads of times," Walter says as we walk towards the kitchen. The plan is to have one of the house-elves give us some bread and cheese so we can have a picnic by the lake and soak up one of the last days of the refreshing autumn air. Clarissa's older brother sent her a package full of cheap elf-made wine and a small bottle of fire whiskey so it's going to be a fun time.

Clarissa, Emma, and I hide behind some barrels as we watch Walter knock on the kitchen door. A little house elf opens the door. We can't hear what they are saying but Walter hands the elf a few sickles. The elf then closes the kitchen door. Walter turns to look at us and gives us the thumbs up. Seconds pass and the door opens again. The elf shoves a basket full of stuff at Walter and slams the door shut.

"Well done Wally." Emma cheers as he returns to the group. She claps him on the back and Walter shrugs it off like its no big deal.

We manage to make it into the field without being seen by Filch or Peeves and we set up camp under the same tree George found me under months ago.

I lay out one of the blankets from the Slytherin common room and we all kick off our shoes, take off our robes and sit on the blanket. Clarissa pops open a bottle of elf-wine, and Walter unwraps the food from the basket we got from the kitchen.

"Happy Halloween everyone!" Clarissa yells. She takes a swig from the bottle and passes it around the circle. The wine is bitter but its better than nothing. We spend the day laughing and running around the lake like a bunch of first years. It's the first time all year where my mind is completely blank. No worries insight.

We watch as the Slytherin quidditch team heads out to the training grounds. "Is it just me or did Adrian Pucey get... attractive?" Emma says her smile grows as she watches him pass. Walter pushes her and she falls over in a fit of laughter.

"Good luck next week boys!" I call out. Marcus Flint, the Slytherin captain waves at us and smiles, his crooked teeth can be seen from here.

"Adrian! Why don't you invite Emma to watch you play!" Clarissa shouts. Adrian goes red and Emma stops laughing. She sits up and straightens herself out a bit and politely waves over at Adrian who hides his face in his robes.

"Oh my goodness!" Emma swats at Clarissa but she moves out of the way laughing. "Now he's going to think I fancy him!"

"Well, you do don't you?" Walter says, reaching for the bottle of fire whiskey.

Emma turns to face him. "Um, well. Yeah." She stumbles over her words. We all start laughing and Emma turns a really dark shade of red, which is intense because her skin is a rather dark shade of brown.

Clarissa catches her breath and looks at me, "Violet, who do you fancy? We all know that there's someone who's caught your eye."

I look at Walter and he shrugs. "Who says I fancy anyone?"

Clarissa rolls her eyes. "Come off it Violet. You didn't have an essay for transfiguration on the day of the first Hogsmeade trip. Who were you hanging out with?" She moves closer to me as if to apply pressure on the situation.

"Yeah Vi, you know who I fancy. Tell us who you fancy." Emma says, now fully invested in this conversation.

I clear my throat. "You wouldn't know him, he's not in our house," I say, hoping to end the conversation there. The wine is clouding my judgement and I know that if they keep pressing me I'll say.

Clarissa squeals. "Okay, now we really have to know! Is he a pureblood? What house is he in? Who is he!"

Walter looks away. I know what he's thinking. "the first step to helping you sort out your thoughts is to be open with your feelings" or some other advice he's read in his '101 ways to be a better wizard' book that his mom sent him when he was sorted into Slytherin.

"Of course he's pureblood. Imagine what my Uncle would do if he wasn't. Imagine what I would do if he wasn't" The girls nod eagerly. Thank goodness I'm a good liar. "He's in Gryffindor. I know what you're thinking. Gryffindor sucks rotten eggs every Tuesday and I agree. But he's different. He totally could have been sorted into Slytherin." True. Fred and George possess many of the characteristics of a good Slytherin student.

"Yes, and who is he?" Emma pushes hard.

I take a deep breath and prepare myself to say something when the bell rings from inside Hogwarts.

"Halloween Feast!" Walter shouts. He stuffs the leftover food and empty bottles of alcohol into the basket and magics it away. We all get up off the blanket and Walter magics that away too. Shoving our feet back into our shoes and throwing on our capes. The four of us link arms and skip back into the school.

The Halloween feast at Hogwarts is by far one of my favourites. Pumpkins hung from the ceiling with faces carved into them, bats flew around the room, swooping rather low every once in a while. We all sit at the end of the table closest to the door of the great hall given that was the only spot left. Draco sees me and waves from further down the table.

Not long after we all sit, the tables fill with mounds of food. Walter immediately fill his plate with pork chops and a few jacket potatoes. But before any of us can actually start eating, the Defense against the Dark Arts Professor, Quirrel comes smashing into the room.

"Troll- in the dungeon- thought you ought to know." Then he collapses into a heap on the floor. Clarissa, Emma, Walter, and I all look at each other. The room erupts into screams. I look over at Draco and he runs towards me for protection (like I can protect him from a troll but okay little cousin).

Dumbledore sets off bright purple fireworks from his wand and the room goes silent. "Prefects! Lead your houses back to the dormitories immediately!" he screams. Instantly every house but Slytherin stands up and moves.

"OUR DORMS ARE IN THE DUNGEONS! I AM NOT GOING DOWN THERE!" Shrieks a girl further down the table. This causes an uproar at the Slytherin table.

"HE WANTS TO KILL US!" a fifth-year boy yells out. The whole Slytherin house is yelling now, myself included. Draco hangs onto me like a scared child. Which I mean, he is a scared child. He's only eleven.

I can see Snape rush over to the Prefects sitting at the head of the table. No one can hear what they are saying but in the end, the Prefect gets up and demands we all follow him back to the dorms as quietly as possible.

Draco is practically suction cupped to my side the whole walk to the dorms. We manage to get down to the dungeons without seeing the actual troll but you can definitely tell that it has been here. There are massive scrape marks on the floors and walls, probably from the mallet that it has. As we approach the common room door we all can hear the roar of the troll somewhere deeper in the castle. But of course, this causes Draco to latch onto me for dear life. Our perfect opens the door and we all push and shove so we can get into the room first.

The fireplace and the torches light as soon as we enter. Our Prefects start calling out names to ensure that everyone is here.

"A troll! Father will hear about this one you can have my word! Stupid Dumbledore can't even stop a troll from getting in!" Draco wails. He is sitting very close to me on the couches but at least he's not touching me any more. Once the attendance is finished the Prefects go over to Merlin's portrait and speak in quiet voices. Merlin then gets up and disappears from his frame.

"I have to agree with your cousin on this one. How did a troll manage to get into Hogwarts!? Isn't it supposed to be the safest place on earth?" Clarissa whispers. We all nod in silent agreement. It blows my mind. Trolls aren't very smart. If a troll can get in, what else can get in?

"Not to mention Dumbledore sent us to the dungeons when Quirrel just finished saying the troll was in the dungeon!" Walter says loudly. The rest of the common room mumbles in agreement. No one is too pleased with Dumbledore at the moment.

"Listen up everyone please!" One of the prefects climbs up onto a desk in the middle of the room so we can all see her. "Given the fact that the troll is in the dungeons. And we are also in the dungeons, myself an the other prefect have decided that everyone will be sleeping in the common room tonight. It's a lot safer, and it will also make looking after you lot a lot easier on us. Please go get changed into your bedclothes and bring your mattress out into the common room!" everyone disperses into their respective rooms as the prefects begin to stack the furniture along the walls, making more floor space.

It doesn't take long us to bring our mattresses out of our rooms and onto the floor. My dormmates and I set up camp along the lakeside of the room. Walter meets us over there with his stuff. Not long after Walter sets up, Draco comes over and demands that Emma move so that he can be beside me.

"Draco. Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise and all of your other friends are over there." I say pointing to a cluster of first years in the far corner. "Why don't you spend the night with them hmm?"

Draco turns to where I am pointing, "Them? They can't protect me from a big troll!" Draco whines.

"To be fair Draco, neither can we," Henrietta says calmly. She won't say it out loud when I'm around but she really doesn't like him.

Draco looks from me to his friends, and then back to me. "Well alright. But if I die Violet."

I cut him off with a slight smile. "If you die, I'll be sure to write to Uncle Lucius and Aunt Narcissa that you fought bravely in your final hours." Henrietta snorts and my other friends laugh quietly.

Draco huffs and turns around in a very dramatic spin and marches over to his friends. His bewitches mattress following him in the air.

It's safe to say that no one got any sleep. Emma and Adrian kept making eyes at each other, so Clarissa and Walter forced her to walk over to him to have an actual conversation. Henrietta and Miriam were talking to Clarissa about theories as to how the troll got into the castle and why exactly it was in the dungeons. "It's Dumbledore I swear to Merlin! He tried to kill off the whole house!" Miriam says angrily. For such a small girl she sure carries a lot of anger with her.

"So you really were saved by the bell today huh," Walter whispers to me, even though everyone else is very engrossed in their own conversation.

"I said that he's a pureblood in Gryffindor. It's not going to be very hard for them to find out who it is if they really put their minds to it." I lean my head onto Walter's shoulder.

"Well lucky for you then that Slytherins aren't known for their smarts."


	7. Chapter 7

A week has passed since the troll incident. The Slytherin house is still absolutely furious with Dumbledore, but we know he doesn't really give a damn to what we think about him. There is excitement in the air though, as today is the first quidditch match of the season. Slytherin versus Gryffindor.

I leave the dorm for breakfast earlier than everyone else. Everyone else is making big signs in preparation for the game after breakfast, but I'm really not in the mood.

"Violet pst." I whip my head around and George Weasley pokes his head out from behind a broom cupboard door.

A really big smile spreads across my face the moment I see him. I rush over to the cupboard and squeeze in before anyone sees me. "Alright there George?" I say. Our faces are practically touching because this room is so small.

"Feeling a lot better now if I'm being honest." Even in the dark, I can tell his cheeks are the same colour as his hair.

"Ready for the game today?" I ask, the smile on my face somehow grows bigger when he looks at me in the eyes.

"Dunno. Are you going to be there?" He leans back on the wall and looks me up from head to toe.

"I suppose I can swing by for a bit," I say slyly. Even though I was planning on going anyways.

We stand there in silence looking at each other for a long time after that. "Been meaning to ask. How are you feeling after the troll incident?"

I breathe in sharply, the anger I have for Dumbledore bubbling to the surface. "I'm absolutely pissed off about it if I'm being quite honest. Quirrel comes running into the great hall says the troll is in the dungeons. And what does Dumbledore do? Sends the entire Slytherin body back into their dormitory that is located where? In the bloody dungeon!" I say in one breath. George nods his head in agreement.

"I was proper worried about you when he said that. I've been trying to get you alone all week. But our schedules clash so much it's like the whole school was working against me." He chuckles lightly and looks back at me. "I'm relieved you're okay though."

We go silent again, just enjoying the presence of each other. "We better make our way to the great hall," I say in a whisper.

George sighs, "Yeah I guess we should." He reaches for the door nob and I peck his cheek.

"Good luck out there Weasley. Please don't wind up in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey gives me the creeps." I peck him on the cheek one more time before I open the door and slip out into the hallway. By the time I arrive in the great hall, both the Ravenclaw and the Hufflepuff tables are full of students. There are only a few Gryffindors and Slytherins sitting at their tables, the ones who don't take quidditch very seriously. As I sit down, George comes in the room. He winks at me before finding a spot at the Gryffindor table. It's not long before the rest of the school arrive. Emma darts over to me and without saying anything smears green and silver paint on my cheeks. "Oh also," She says before pulling out my house scarf from her shoulder bag and wrapping it around me. Because it's the weekend we aren't forced to wear the school uniform, making it slightly difficult to tell which house you're in. Well no that's a lie. It's quite easy to tell the Slytherins from the rest of the crowd given all of us almost only wear black and dress rather posh.

I'm dressed posh today too. Sporting black, high waisted dress pants with a dark green blouse Aunt Narcissa sent me in the mail not too long ago. I quickly glance over to the Gryffindor table but George seems to be having a serious conversation with the rest of his team.

"Guess what! Adrian actually asked me to be there and support him today! I can't believe it, can you?" Emma says cheerily, she pours herself a bowl of cereal but she doesn't add any milk, just eats it dry. "He even gave me this, look!" she pulls out a fairly large Slytherin quidditch sweater with 'PUCEY' knitted on the back of it. She pulls it on over top of her shirt and smiles big. "Violet it even smells like him here! Smell it!" she shoves her sleeve under my nose.

"Relax Emma," Walter says laughing as he approaches the benches we are sitting on. "Not everyone cares about a smelly old sweater your beau works out in." Clarissa and Henrietta laugh and Emma shrinks down.

Breakfast was fast, like crazy fast. I link my arm with Walter as we follow the rest of the school out to the quidditch pitch.

"Isn't your boyfriend on the Gryffindor team?" Walter jokes with me

"Shut up Willy. He's not my boyfriend. Besides, I'm rooting for Slytherin. The more games we win, the fewer games he has to play, which means the fewer chances there are for him to get hurt."

Walter laughs, like a proper belly laugh "That's not how any of this works Violet."

"I'm trying okay!" Clarissa and Emma wave us over to one of the bleachers covered in the Slytherin crest. Walter and I pick up our walking speed and meet them by the stairs. We climb up to the highest place possible and take our seats. Clarissa pulls out a huge sign that says "SLYTHERIN PROUD" and has dancing snakes around the edges.

Walter pulls out four pairs of binoculars and hands them down the line. I put mine to my eyes and look towards the Gryffindor entrance to the pitch, hoping to catch a glimpse of George.

Madam Hooch walks across the pitch and the crowd roars in anticipation. She gestures at the house entrances and both teams begin their walk to the middle of the pitch. The crowd roars louder with a mixture of cheers and boos depending on the team you want to win. I trace George's movements with my binoculars. I see him scanning the Slytherin crowd looking for me. I lower my binoculars, and cheer really loudly, throwing my hands in the air.

George sees and starts to laugh. I swear I can hear it all the way from here. The players take their positions on the field and Hooch uses her wand to amplify her voice. "Now I want a nice fair game, all of you." The Slytherins immediately booed at this. Hooch put her hand in the air and the noise died down. "Mount your brooms!" The players all get onto their brooms. I can see Flint make a threatening gesture at the Gryffindor team.

"I doubt Potters any good." I can hear Draco say a few rows in front of us. "I heard that he has only caught the snitch twice during the Gryffindor practices." Hooch blows her whistle and the game begins.

"And the quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor! What an excellent chaser that girl is, and rather attractive too." Lee's voice can be heard over the cheer of the crowd.

"Who let a Gryffindor commentate! I'm not going to sit here and be bullied by Jordan of all people!" Clarissa moans. I watch attentively as George slams a bludger away from one of the chasers on his team, and he and Fred dart off in the opposite direction.

"Quaffle is taken by Slytherin- that's Adrian Pucey speeding off towards the goalposts," Lee says into the microphone on the other side of the pitch. Emma screams the loudest as Adrian soars towards the Gryffindor posts. "Oh but he's blocked by a second bludger- sent his way by Fred or George Weasley- can't tell which."

"FOUL! THEY NEARLY TOOK OFF HIS HEAD!" Emma screams.

Miriam puts her hand on Emma's shoulder in attempts to calm her down. "That's literally how the game is supposed to be played." Emma sobs loudly, her worry for her newfound love interest is plastered all over her face. I do hope I'm hiding my concern better than she is.

"Come on Angelina- Keeper Bletchley dives-misses- GRYFFINDOR SCORES!" Lee yells into the microphone. Gryffindors roar with happiness while Slytherins cry in defeat.

I watch as George hits a bludger towards a Slytherin player. "Slytherin in possession. Chaser Pucey ducks two bludgers, two Weasleys, and chaser Bell and speeds towards the- wait a moment- was that the snitch?" I watch as Adrian drops the quaffle, clearly distracted by the snitch flying past his ear.

"MERLINS BEARD PUCEY! The quaffle!" Henrietta groans. Our attention moves to Harry Potter and the Slytherin chaser Terence Higgs as they race neck in neck for the snitch. Slytherins roar with anticipation. Clarissa waves her homemade sign in the air aggressively.

"Marcus no don't" I whisper to myself. I can see Marcus Flint flying towards Potter, and just as I expected, Flint blocks Harry, causing Harry to fall off course.

The word 'FOUL" is heard throughout the pitch as the Gryffindors scream for justice. Hooch blows her whistle and the game stops. She marches right over to Flint. Walter raises his binoculars to his face to watch the argument. "This isn't good. Not good at all." He says to no one in particular.

The Gryffindor team is awarded a free shot at the goalposts. "So after the obvious and disgusting bit of cheating..." Lee says. All the students around me blow up in anger.

"Talk like that to our faces coward!" Someone the row in front of us shouts.

Lee grabs the mic again after having a quick chat with McGonagall. "I mean, after that open and revolting foul.." We scream in anger again. One of the seventh years in the front row attempts to jump down from the stands, no doubt wanting to go after Lee for his commentary.

"All right all right. Flint nearly kill Gryffindor seeker, which could happen to anyone I'm sure, penalty awarded to the Gryffindor team, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away with no trouble. Gryffindor is still in possession. Slytherin in possession now..."

Everyone roars in delight when Flint takes control over the quaffle again. "passes to Spinnet, passes to Bell, hit hard in the face with a bludger- hope he broke his nose- only joking professor." The crowd around us roars even louder as the Slytherin team carries the quaffle towards the Gryffindor posts.

"Slytherin scores," Lee says quietly, but the whole Slytherin house screams, myself included. I use the binoculars around my neck to check for George and make sure he's still okay but someone else catches my eye. Harry Potter is awfully high in the air, his broom jerking him around.

"Hey Wally, are brooms supposed to act like that," I say nudging Walter and pointing up at Harry Potter.

"Haven't the foggiest." He says, not really paying attention to anything but the active game. I shrug it off and continue to watch George, making sure he doesn't get to massively hurt.

The crowd goes quiet suddenly, everyone else noticing Potter struggling in the air above. Fred and George fly up beside him and it looks like they are trying to get him onto one of their brooms. I wince as George gets closer to Harry.

"How about instead of looking for attention Potter you try to find the snitch!" I hear Draco call out. The first years around him laugh but that's about it. My attention is torn from Fred and George when my house starts cheering. Flint has taken the quaffle and scored five times while everyone was distracted.

I look back towards George, who is now with Fred circling lower, preparing to catch Harry if he falls I'm assuming. "They better count those points we just got," Clarissa says, her sign hangs limply at her side.

"Dunno Clare, there's something bigger happening right now," I say back, not really trying to sound rude but also trying to sound rude.

"Yeah, the Gryffindors are at it again. Acting like the world revolves around them." Emma mutters, she crosses her arms over her chest in an act of defeat.

Suddenly, Harry could control his broom again and he started to speed towards the ground. I pull my binoculars to my face and watch as Harry claps his hand over his mouth and hit the sand with a thud. He crawls away from his broom on all fours and coughed.

"I can't believe it! Harry Potters caught the golden snitch! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" Lee shouts. The Gryffindors cheer. Many of the Slytherins yell in defeat. Draco is one of them.

"He didn't catch the snitch! He SWALLOWED IT!" Draco wails.

Slowly the stands empty. Defeated, the Slytherin house makes their way back to the common room, for a good round of drinking honestly.

"Violet, you coming?" Walter says as he makes his way down the steps of the bleachers.

"I'm going to wait for Emma. She ran off to talk to Adrian." Clarissa doesn't bother to turn around to wave, she just throws a hand in the air. Walter, knowing full well why I'm really staying behind, smiles and winks at me before climbing down the rest of the steps.

I try my hardest to look casual as I wait by the Gryffindor change rooms. Thankfully, the team are far too happy about their win to notice me. Fred walks past and I pull him aside. "Congratulations you big oaf." I smile at him and he smiles back.

"You do realize you have the wrong twin right?" He wipes sweat off his brow and I swat at his arm.

"Of course I know! Can you back in and tell George not to leave the change rooms yet? I want to talk to him." Fred nods and throws open the curtain that covers the opening of the change room. He walks out with Angelina in tow and winks at me.

Guessing that wink means that the coast is clear, I push back the curtain and step inside. Not going to lie, it smells like sweat and I gag a little.

"So? How'd you like it?" George says, he finishes lacing up his boot and straightens out, sitting on one of the benches. I walk over to him and straddle the bench he's sitting on.

"It was the most boring thing I've ever watched. And I've watched Dobby our house elf peel paint off a wall." George smiles and moves so he's also straddling the bench. I can feel his hot breath on my face.

"Yeah eh? Cause you seemed pretty interested when I looked over at you during the game." George wiggles his eyebrows.

"You'd be surprised to know that you're not as interesting as you think you are." George moves closer to me.

"You think so?" He half whispers. His eyes flick from my eyes to my lips. I get nervous. I haven't had my first kiss yet. Not even one of those playground kisses that many people have when they are really little. George leans in closer, our noses touch.

"Forgot my damn playbook." The curtain to the change room flies open and the captain of the Gryffindor team, Oliver Wood comes walking in. George and I practically fly away from each other.

Oliver Wood looks at me, then at George, then at the both of us. "No Slytherins allowed LeStrange. You better do good and get out of here." Oliver tilts his head towards the entrance and his eyes trail me as I walk out.

I can hear Oliver tell George something about "How do you know she's not spying for the Slytherin team" and "I thought you knew better" before he comes walking out of the change rooms. He nods at me politely before walking towards the castle. I turn back to the curtain and George walks out his quidditch gear in a bag around his shoulder.

"I uh- sorry about that." George rubs the back of his neck with his hand, clearing feeling as awkward as I am.

"Oh don't worry about it," I say back, I can feel my cheeks heat up and I urge them to stop.

"Walk you back to the castle?" George suggests. He holds out his hand, and I take it in mine.

"Please."


	8. Chapter 8

The Christmas holidays were just around the corner. Which means the professors are packing on as much homework as possible before they couldn't. Every Slytherin is going home for Christmas. Every Slytherin except for me that is.

"Oh, Violet, please! Christmas just won't be the same without you home." Draco moans as I finish up a roll of parchment.

"Draco I've told you a hundred times. I can't this year. There's too many distractions at home and teachers have really been laying on the homework. Uncle Lucius understands." I reach into the bag that's laying beside me and pull out a second roll of parchment so I can finish up my care of magical creatures essay.

Draco scoffs. "There are no distractions at home! Name one distraction. I bet you can't do it."

"Well for starters." I dip my quill in my inkpot and tap off the excess. "You." I look at Draco and his face falls a bit. "You're the best distraction there is though. But I really need to get this stuff done during Christmas break and I can't have you tempting me with snowball fights and pranking the house-elf." I ruffle Draco's hair and he smiles again.

"Fine but I expect a letter from you on Christmas at least." I nod and shoo Draco away so I can finish my essay. I actually do have loads of homework, but my goal is to get it all done before the break starts at the end of the week. The Weasleys are all staying at Hogwarts for the holidays, their parents are going to Romania to visit their eldest son.

The rest of the week flies by pretty smoothy. Except for the fact that the youngest Weasley at Hogwarts tried to fight Draco. That did put a damper on the Christmas mood.

"All I did was suggest that he get a job helping that big oaf Hagrid around the school to earn his family a bit of money and he ATTACKED ME!" Draco wails. All of his first-year friends gather around him. That Pansy girl is hanging on to every one of his words.

I sit down on one of the big armchairs nearby. "Dunno Draco. Sounds like you egged him on." I say nonchalantly, opening a copy of the Daily Prophet that was left on the table.

Draco stopped and looks at me stunned. "egged him on! I was just suggesting he help out with his families money situation. I mean if they know they don't have loads of money, why have all those kids?"

I flip a page in the paper and look at him over the top of it. "Because money isn't everything Draco. That family is full of love. And that's enough for some people." Draco rolls his eyes and ignores my last comment. He turns back to his 'adoring' fans and they start coming up with ways to get "famous little Potter and his blasted Weasel pet" out of Hogwarts without anyone knowing it was them behind the plan.

When Friday hits, I hug each of my dormmates goodbye. I haven't bothered to change out of my pyjamas, I mean really, who's going to see me

"Happy Christmas girls. See you back here in two weeks." They all wish me happy Christmas as well before they file out of the dorms and make their way to the waiting train. I walk into the common room and see Draco and his friends huddling in the corner.

"Happy Christmas Draco," I say. He turns around and comes over and gives me a big hug goodbye.

"Don't study too hard Violet. Enjoy your Christmas." I peck him on the forehead and he immediately wipes it away. "Now go, you're going to miss the train and be stuck with me all holiday." Draco laughs then runs back to his friends. He grabs the handle of his trunk, waves goodbye, and he and the final group of Slytherins make their way out of the common room.

I wait about an hour before I step into my house slippers and make my way out of the common room. I walk up the many flights of stairs, waving hello to the Bloody Baron as I pass and head to the portrait of the fat lady. Just as planned, George, Fred, and Lee are all waiting by the common room entrance.

"Boys, how are you?" I wrap my arms around my waist and look at them from the bottom of the flight of stairs.

They all get up and clamber down the stairs to give me a hug. "Better now honestly," Lee says.

I lead the way back to the Slytherin common room. Given literally no other Slytherin is staying at Hogwarts, it's a safe place to hang out with the boys away from prying eyes. I even covered all the portraits with sheets so they won't be able to see what's happening either.

George walks beside me, he throws one of his arms around my shoulder and pulls me in close, kissing the top of my head. Lee and Fred whistle from behind us. "So tell me, Lee, why are you staying for Christmas?"

"It was either go home and deal with my parents or stay here and see the Slytherin dormitory. A no brainer really." Lee laughs at his own joke, which makes Fred laugh behind us.

I lead the group around the corner and down the stairs to the dungeons. The Bloody Baron watches as we walk past but I know he won't say anything to anyone. He doesn't know that I know, but he is scared of the LeStrange name for some reason.

I stop in front of the common room door and George takes his arm away. "Where's your portrait? How do you know where your door is?" George says, looking up and down the wall.

"Sorry boys, can't tell you that one. Can you all turn around please?" They are hesitant but do as I say. I place my hand on the brick and say "Pure-Blood" loudly. The bricks move under my touch and the door swings open. "Turn around and come in before the door closes." All three boys turn at the same time and walk into the now open door.

"Bloody hell. This is not what I was expecting." Fred exclaims as he steps down into the common room. The fire lights up and it makes him jump slightly.

"Are we actually under the lake?" George says walking towards the glass wall.

I walk over to join him, leaning my head on his shoulder. "Yeah. Mermaids and things swim by all the time."

I didn't realize but Fred was now standing beside George watching the fish and things swim past. "Wicked," they say in unison.

I turn around to see Lee sit down on one of the couches by the fire and just stare at the flames. "The first generation of Slytherins made it so the fire's green. No one really knows how they did it." The common room cat hops up beside Lee and starts purring loudly.

"And who's cat is this?" Lee says, petting it gently.

I sit down on one of the other couches and George comes and sits down beside me and I curl into him. "Honestly no one knows. It just showed up years ago and didn't leave. I don't even think it has a name."

Fred sits down on an old armchair and looks around. "So is your password seriously 'pure-blood'? Because I've heard some pretty messed up passwords but that one takes the cake."

"I mean, my password is pure-blood. But it depends on the person opening the door."

Lee stops playing with the cat and looks at me. "You're not telling me you have to announce your blood status every time you want to come into the dorms are you?"

"It's been how you get into the common room since Salazar himself. It was his way of making sure only purebloods were in his house. Now, well its more just used to make fun of non-pure bloods. I know people who are scared to open the door because if you try to lie about your status it will scream awful words at you."

The conversation drifts from topic to topic. Lee pulls out his wizard chess set and he and Fred begin to play for money. "To make things more interesting of course," Fred says as his knight smashes one of Lee's pawns.

George and I cuddle close on the couch. I'm half watching the chess match, half falling asleep. George is aimlessly playing with a lock of my hair which is not helping me stay awake. After a few hours and about seven matches of wizard chess, I yawn really loudly and Fred takes the hint.

"We're going to head out now. Aren't we Lee?" Fred pushes Lee a bit to get his attention off of the chess match.

"Wut? Oh uh yeah, it's getting late. I have a long day of... a generic activity tomorrow." Lee stuffs his chessboard and pawns back in the silk bag he pulled them out of and stands up from the floor, cracking his back.

Before they leave the common room, Fred looks back at his brother, "I better see you in the common room later tonight there Georgie. No funny business." He shakes his finger like a disappointed father and him and Lee both leave the room laughing.

"Yeah, Georgie. No funny business." I say tapping his nose with my finger. George scrunches up his nose and pulls away from me slightly.

"Funny business? Me? Please I am the most serious of the Weasley boys. Look I'm even a Prefect." George jumps up and pulls Percy's prefect badge out of his pocket.

I gasp and look at the badge and then at the smirking boy holding it towards me. "Merlin's beard George you didn't! Percy is going to have your head!"

George threw the badge up in the air and caught it with his other hand. "Eh, let him have it. Nothing up there anyways." He shoved the badge back in his trousers pocket and throws himself back onto the couch.

I move so I'm sitting cross-legged on the couch. George lies on his back and puts his head in my lap so he's looking up at me. "Don't talk about yourself like that dummy. You're a lot smarter than you know." I put my hand on his cheek and he leans into my touch slightly.

"That sentence hurt my head. Call me a dummy and smart in the same sentence?" I swat Georges cheek and his jaw drops. "And now you're hitting me! Bloody hell woman make up your mind."

"You suck you know that right," I say. George sits up and turns to face me.

"Course I do. Been told that my whole life. Mostly from Percy though which isn't so bad. At least I don't have the same personality as a wet sock."

"Dunno Weasley. You do sometimes behave like a wet sock." George puts his hand over his chest and gasps.

"That one hurt. It really did." George moves away as I reach for him laughing. "Nope, I think you've done it this time Violet. I think you've truly gone and done it."

Laughing I lean back into the arm of the couch. "I lied, your not a wet sock. You're just a child."

Georges face lights up. "Now that! Is a compliment." He pulls me into his chest and wraps his arms around my neck in a hug. We sit like that for what feels like an eternity. Only the sound of our breathing and the crackling fire.

We start talking about life after Hogwarts. George starts explaining the joke shop that he and Fred have their hearts set on. "It's going to be right in the middle of Diagon Alley and it's going to be huge! The Weasley family will never be in a pinch for money once the shop starts up."

"That sounds beautiful Georgie. I'll probably be forced into becoming a death eater and follow my families footsteps of tormenting muggle-borns if I'm being honest with you." The smile fades from Georges face and is replaced with a look of anger and sadness at the same time if that's even a real emotion.

George takes my hand in his and tilts my chin up so I'm looking at him. "Don't say that. Don't you ever say that about yourself again alright? You are more than what your family wants you to be." A tear falls down my cheek and he wipes it away quickly. But because he's George and can't be serious for more than 10 seconds at a time he pulls away a bit and cracks a smile. "If you're ever in a pinch though, you'll always have a job at the joke shop." He contorts his face into a very animated wink which makes me laugh.

"What do you seriously want to do after Hogwarts though? Like genuinely."

I shrug my shoulders. "Dunno honestly. I sort of want to spend a year or two in the muggle world, just to see how it all works. Then I'd take up a super stress-free job in Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley. Like a joke shop perhaps."

"Then it's settled. Fred n I will set up our joke shop, get it running. Then you and I will move into the muggle world. Go exploring. Learn what makes the muggle world tick. Then we'd come back and help Fred with the joke shop till we are grey and happy." George sticks out his hand. "Got a deal?"

I take Georges hand in mine and shake it hard.

"I'm counting on it, Georgie."


	9. Chapter 9

The days leading up to Christmas day flew past. Lee's parents wrote to Dumbledore and they came by and picked him up from Hogwarts the next day. Apparently the boy didn't get proper permission from his parents to stay the holiday on the castle grounds. Nevertheless, our days almost always consist of a snowball fight or two with the Weasley clan plus friends. Hot chocolate by the Gryffindor fire, and exploring the halls of Hogwarts using Fred and George's Marauders map. We even bewitched snowballs to follow Quirrell around and hit him in the back of the head for a whole day.

Recently, I haven't been sleeping in my own bed, instead, I have temporarily claimed one of the empty beds in the twins dorm so I'm never alone. Because between you and me the dungeons are quite spooky when its only you and the Bloody Baron running around.

I feel a pillow hit me in the face when I open my eyes George is standing beside my bed in his pyjamas. "Happy Christmas Violet." He says quietly.

I stretch my arms up and smile sleepily at him. "Happy Christmas Georgie." I sit up on my bed and pull George down to sit beside me. I flatten out his bed head slightly and quickly peck him on the nose. While we have been getting a lot closer and more romantic recently, we haven't actually kissed like on the lips quite yet. We also haven't made an official announcement or anything declaring that we are boyfriend and girlfriend. Which doesn't phase me too much. We aren't even fourteen yet.

"I think Dumbledore knows that you've been spending time in here Vi. All your presents are at the foot of your bed." George says. I crawl over to the edge of my bed and peek over it. There's a really big pile of presents wrapped in pitch black paper, a few wrapped in newspaper, and a crumpled one in bright red paper. I jump out of bed and sit in front of the big pile of presents. I unwrap all the black paper ones first, knowing that they are from my family. Loads of new clothes, loads of home-baked sweets made by our house-elf Dobby. A gold set of new gobstones. Nutmeg, our owl swoops into the window, freaking our George and waking Fred up ("Bloody hell was that Errol?")

I rush over and take the note out of her beak. She stays beside me as I open it carefully. Inside is three galleons and a little note from Draco wishing me a very Happy Christmas and how he misses me so. I rip one of my sheets of parchment in half and quickly scribble a note back to him thanking him for the present and hoping he likes the one that I sent home before the break. I kiss Nutmeg on the top of the head and give her the note. "Get home safe," I say to her and she flies off again.

Fred is now awake and ripping open his presents. I go back to doing the same. Walter has sent me a pack of "muggle quills that have the ink inside them. We call them pens." Which make me smile. Clarissa has sent me liquorice wands and a necklace with a note saying that all of our dormmates now have the same one. I put it on before picking up what I assume is Emma's gift. Ripping open the paper, I am face to face with a smiling portrait of Gilderoy Lockhart with his signature on the far left corner.

"Don't tell me Mum made a sweater for Violet too." George groans looking over at the red package with my name on it.

"Wait. Mrs Weasley sent me a present?" I smile and snatch the red package from the floor.

"I dunno how she found out about you and George. There must be a snitch in our group or something." Fred's words are soaked in sarcasm

Ignoring the curses flying from Georges mouth, I carefully open the red package. Inside is a cluster of candies, a note, and a very green sweater.

Dear Violet. Fred tells me you and George have been getting close! We must have you over some time this summer so we can all be properly introduced to one another. I'm sorry if the sweater is a little too big, I used the same measurements as the sweaters I make for Fred and George. Please let me know if you like it! Thank you for looking out for my boys when I'm not around. I know it's not an easy task. Happy Christmas darling! Love Mrs Weasley.

I pull the sweater out from the paper and pull it over my head. Like her letter says, it is quite large on me but all the best sweaters are. There's a big dark green snake coiled around one sleeve. It even smells like the Weasleys.

"Mums really done it now hasn't she," George says shaking his head.

"Are you mad? I love it!" I stand up from the floor and walk over to him. I grab his sweater from the bed and shove it in his hands. "Now you have to put yours on." He chuckles to himself and pulls the blue sweater over his head. There's a big yellow 'G' on the front of it. I spin around and Fred already has his on. It matches George only it has a yellow 'F' on the front.

"Well then. Let's go check on the other ones then." George and Fred link their arms in mine and we skip out of our room and right into Harry and Rons.

Fred kicks open the door, startling the two inside. Harry shoves something in his trunk but I'm far too happy to care right now. "HAPPY CHRISTMAS BOYS!" Fred roars as he enters the room.

George and I step in next. "Oh look! Harry's got a Weasley jumper too!"

Fred goes over and holds Harry's jumper to the light. "See yours and Violets are much better quality than ours. Mum must put more effort in if you're not family." Fred tosses the sweater back to Harry.

George switches his attention to Ron. "Ronald, why on earth aren't you wearing your sweater! C'mon, they're nice and warm aren't they Violet."

I shake my head yes. "Oh come on Ron be a good sport. Pop yours on so we can all match."

Ron groans. "I hate maroon." But he pulls his head through the sweater none the less. Fred, George, and I all clap and cheer.

"You haven't got a letter on yours," George says spinning Ron around to get a proper look at him. "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But we aren't stupid are we Fred." George looks over to Fred who's currently helping himself to a piece of Ron's taffy.

"No, we are not." He says with his mouth full.

George shakes his head and looks over at me and winks before proceeding. "We know we're called Gred and Forge." I snort at Georges joke which only makes him smile wider.

The door creaks open and Percy shoves his head through the gap. "What's all this noise?" Fred and George pull the door wide open and drag Percy into the room. He has a sweater hanging from his shoulder.

Fred grabs the sweater from Percy, who is still too groggy to move as fast as Fred. "Oh look! 'P' for Prefect! Get it on now, we are all wearing them. Even Violet and Harry got one!"

George leaves my side and goes over to Fred together they force the sweater over Percy's head while Percy fights back. "No-I-Don't-Want-To." Percy's voice mumbles from underneath the heavy wool. The twins finally pull the sweater fully over Percy's head, knocking his glasses nearly off his face.

"And don't even think about sitting with the prefects today. Christmas is time for family." He smiles at me when he says the last part, making my heart beat fast.

Fred and George frog march Percy out of his room, his arms pinned to his sides by his sweater. I skip along behind them. "See you at breakfast lovelies." I say before closing the door behind me and following the mess that is the older Weasley boys.

Before I start down the stairs of the Gryffindor towers I can hear Ron say "I honestly can't believe that she is related to Malfoy of all people!" I can't make out exactly what Harry says in response but I really hope it was something nice. I rush out of the common room and chase after the three boys.

I stumble into the great hall. Fred, George, and a very annoyed Percy are sitting at the very top of the Gryffindor table. I run over and plant myself right beside George, who instinctively puts his arm around my shoulders.

"Ugh, gross don't make me puke." Fred jokes, pretending to throw up on the floor.

Percy rolls his eyes so hard I swear he could have seen his brain. "Don't be so childish Fred. Act your age."

Fred sits up straight and puts his hands on his hips, and in his very best Percy impression says, "Goodness Fred once in your life please just act your age." George and I laugh but the look that Percy shot at us quickly shuts us up. Harry and Ron come running into the dining hall and we all filled our plates with Christmas breakfast.

Professor Dumbledore cracks a joke at the professors table, and I can hear McGonagall shriek with laughter. Lucky for me Snape has left the castle grounds for Christmas. I can see that Dumbledore swapped out his pointy wizard hat for a floral bonnet. We make eye contact and he raises his glass to me and smiles.

After breakfast, we all rushed out to the quidditch post, well almost all of us. Fred has to drag Percy along. "Okay!" George announces when we all catch up to him. He spins around and looks at us with a wicked smile on his face. Behind him are six brooms lying in the snow, along with a quite large pile of snowballs.

"Did- did you STEAL brooms from the shed!?" Percy yells in anguish. I can hear his poor little rule-following heart break slightly. "Now I can handle letting a Slytherin girl into the boys dorms because she's along for Christmas. But this. This is not happening."

Fred claps Percy's shoulder. "Oh lighten up old man. It's going to be fun.

George clears his throat, shutting us up. "The rules are simple!" He says putting on his best madam Hooch impersonation. "These snowballs are bewitched, as soon as I blow this whistle they will float in there air, and just reappear once used. You will all get onto your brooms, and pelt one another with snowballs. The last one standing- er well, flying, wins!" George grabs a broom for himself and mounts it. The rest of us follow suit.

I grab a broom and mount it, Fred comes over to me broom in hand. "Don't worry, you won't be toe worst flyer. Percy isn't the best either."

"I hope you seasoned your words today there friend." Fred's forehead creases in confusion. "Because you're going to eat them in a second." George blows his whistle and just like he said, the snowballs rush into the air. I wink at Fred before kicking off the ground, grabbing a snowball, and whipping it at the back of Fred's head.

"Killer shot there love!" George cheers. He throws a snowball at me and it hits me in the leg. "But your dodging needs work."

The snowball fight goes on for hours, it only stops when Harry and Ron come crashing out of the sky and into a snowbank out of pure exhaustion.

Everyone heads back into the castle, and I help George put the brooms and whistle back where he found them. "That was brilliant George. Absolutely brilliant." George takes the final broom from my hands and shoves it in place.

He runs his hand through his hair. "I never knew you could fly like that. I know you said you took lessons when you were younger. But that was great. Why haven't you tried out for quidditch?" George places the lock back on the broom shed and locks it up with a quick flick of his wand and "colloportus"

He turns back to me, takes my hand in his, and we walk back towards the castle. "I'm not a big fan of quidditch if I'm being quite honest. Draco and Uncle Lucius absolutely love it and they tried rather hard to get me to like the game but whenever they go watch matches I tend to stay at home with Aunt Narcissa."

George goes quiet for a second, and then, "Can I ask you something?" spills from his mouth.

"Course you can Georgie," I say back.

George clears his throat and slows his pace. "Well, I was wondering, did you ever live with your mother or has it always been your aunt and uncle? Sorry if that crosses a boundary and you don't have to answer if you don't want. I was just curious. Never mind it was a stupid question."

I squeeze his hand gently. "Oh no, it's not a stupid question at all. I lived with my mum, well mostly my dad for about two years. Then after the wizarding war, they attacked the Longbottoms and drove them mad with the Cruciatus curse. When they were sentenced to Azkaban my aunt and uncle took me in. I have another aunt, Andromeda whom I could have lived with but she was disowned from the family when she married a muggle-born. Aunt Narcissa told me that my mother never truly loved my father, she married him only because her family forced it. She only ever truly loved one person, the Dark Lord. She followed him everywhere. My mother was his most loyal and dangerous followers. But... Aunt Narcissa thinks that she loved me, just a little; when she was given life imprisonment, one of her last requests was for me to be taken care of. She begged aunt Narcissa to take me and raise me like she would her own child. By then she was already pregnant with Draco but she listened to her sister's wishes and took me in."

George turns his head and looks at me, he squeezes my hand hard. "I dunno, I've seen pictures of her all over the Malfoy manor but I don't really remember her in my life at all. We do look quite alike though, except I have my father's green eyes. And my hair isn't as curly as hers is. That's the only reason we really know that my father actually is my father honestly. For the longest time, my aunt and uncle were convinced that my mother had cheated on my father with the Dark Lord, and I was his child." George stiffens at this and I quickly finish with "I'm not though. Uncle Lucius pulled out old pictures of both my father and the Dark Lord and compared me to each. I looked enough like my father to convince him."

George sighs deeply. "wow." Is all he manages to say.

"There's a lot of pressure on me to be like my parents. The Death Eaters say that the Dark Lord is coming back. That we always have to be ready for his return. And being ready means joining the Death Eaters when I'm old enough. Draco doesn't see a problem with this, he swears that if he could, he'd join the Death Eaters right now. I've been trying to change his mind about it. Showing him that he can think for himself instead of following what his father says all the time. My uncle heard me telling Draco that when we were both really small, ever since then Uncle Lucius has drilled it into my head my that my parents did not go to Azkaban for me to stop fighting their battle. But he knows I think, that I don't want to be like them. Aunt Narcissa knows I'm a lot more like my aunt Andromeda than anyone else in the family."

By the time I finish talking we are at the castle doors, George pulls it open and I step inside, kicking the snow off my boots and brushing off my coat. Before we go any further George stops me and looks at me hard. "You can always come to my house during the summer. It's definitely not as lavish as the Malfoy manor but you'll always be welcome there."

I move closer and peck him on the cheek. "That's sweet of you, it really is. But my aunt and uncle, and Draco for that matter, would never let that happen. In their eyes, the Weasley family are blood traitors. And that's almost as bad as being muggle-born."

We walk up to the Gryffindor common room in silence. I can tell that George is still processing my history. Which is fine, I just wish he would speak to me about what he's thinking.

When we step into the Gryffindor common room Ron hands us both a cup of tea and rushes back to the chess game he is playing with Harry. "No Harry see? You have to move your pawn there." Percy says from his position behind Harry. The pawn moves across the board and one of Ron's pieces smashes it to bits. I go and sit on the floor by the fire pit and take a swig of the tea Ron gave me. It instantly warms my whole body up from being out in the cold all day.

"Don't listen to him Harry, Percy is absolutely horrible at wizard chess," Fred says sipping on his tea. George goes over to Fred and says something in his ear. They both laugh and I can see George hand Fred the prefect badge that George stole from Percy about a week ago.

"Have some respect! I'm still your prefect you know." Percy snaps at Fred.

"Oh really? Are you still a prefect without your badge?" Fred says back, very nonchalantly.

"mm, he's got a very good point, Percy. Say, where is your prefect badge. I haven't seen it recently. Have you Freddy?"

Fred shakes his head and places his mug on the table in preparation for what's about to happen. "Can't say that I have there Georgie boy."

Percy stops what he's doing and snaps his head up to the twins. "It's-it's on my robes upstairs. I haven't touched it since the holidays started."

George clicks his tongue and shakes his head. "You sure about that Percy-kins?" Percy stands up, knocking over the chess set which makes Ron curse. I've never seen Percy move so fast. He darts up into his dorms. There's quite a lot of crashing and then the door slams. We all look up at the same time, to see Percy, red face, looking down in the common room from the balcony above.

"We better get a move on then. What do you think Freddy?" George jumps up from the couch.

"Sorry to leave so soon, but something has come up in our schedule." Fred jumps up too and they run to the door.

"GIVE IT BACK! YOU DIRTY BASTARDS!" Percy screams, running down the stairs.

"Oi! Better watch your language. That's not very prefect like of you Percy-poo." Fred says before him and George race out of the common room, Percy screams and chases after them.

Ron turns to me, "I'm stuck with them, but you hang out with them voluntarily?" Harry at Ron's comment as he picks up the chess pieces from the ground.

"You think that's bad, remember she lives with Draco," Harry says. It's my turn to laugh now.

"He's not wrong, live with Draco for a few years and you're numb to pretty much everything." Ron, Harry, and I clean up the cups and head into the dining hall for Christmas dinner.

Percy's scream can be heard down the hall and Fred and George's laughs echo off the walls. They run up to us, panting. Percy is red in the face but he's fixing his badge onto his sweater.

"What are you lot staring at?" George says trying to catch his breath.

"Not quite sure honestly," I say back. George smiles and swats my arm.

"You're not a very nice person."

Dinner is amazing. Fat turkeys, piles of roast and potatoes, platters full of chipolatas, tureens of buttered peas, boats full of thick, brown gravy and cranberry sauce, and hundreds of wizard crackers.

I grab a cracker and have George pull it with me. Green smoke surrounds us and it rains pumpkin pasties around us. "You know muggles have crackers like these too," Harry says picking one up from the table and looking at it. "But they are very small and only contain a plastic toy and a paper hat usually."

Fred takes the other side of Harry's cracker and pulls hard, a canon like bang fills the air.

Dumbledore waves us into our seats, still wearing the floral bonnet. Flitwick seems to have made a joke because Dumbledore starts laughing. Ron fills his plate with the same amount of food that Walter normally eats. "Goodness Ron, they'll feed you again tomorrow," I say but he just sticks his tongue out at me how Draco would have done if I made a comment like that.

After dinner, flaming Christmas pudding took the place of the turkeys. We all help ourselves to a piece, Percy takes a huge slice, "I am the oldest after all." Not too long after he takes a big bite of his pudding and yelps in pain.

"What happened? First day with your new teeth?" Fred says. Percy puts his fingers in his mouth and pulls out a silver sickle.

"Damn thing nearly took my tooth out," Percy says holding it out in front of him.

George reaches over and plucks it from Percy's hand and shoves it in his pocket. "I'll put it in the bank for you Percy." Percy opens his mouth to speak but George places a finger over his mouth. "Oh, no need to thank me honestly. Least I can do for my big brother."

Hagrid's big belly laugh echoes throughout the great hall. I look over to see Hagrid kiss, McGonagall, on the cheek in his drunken state. McGonagall giggles and blushes.

Harry looks at me, "You saw that too right?"

"Wish I didn't if I'm being honest with you." Before we left the great hall, Fred and George rounded up all the crackers they could get their hands on and popped them off as fast as they possibly could. Which of course, Percy was not a fan of.

We all walk out of the great hall, eyes heavy, pockets full of new trinkets from all the crackers. In the common room, Percy, Ron, Fred, and Harry all collapse on the couches.

"Violet, come with me for a minute?" George says to me gently. We walk up to the highest point in the Gryffindor tower and sit by the window.

George pulls something from his pocket. "Happy Christmas." He says quietly and places the little box in my hand. Inside is a necklace, a silver chain with a silver pendant. On the pendant is a snake, that if you look closely at it, moves.

"George I love it. Thank you!"

George takes it from me and places the pendant in his palm. "That's not all." He taps his wand on it and says "alohomora" the pendant opens and inside is gold, with the head of a lion roaring quietly inside. "I wanted you to have a piece of me, always with you. Because I know that when everyone comes back from holiday it is going to be much harder to spend time with you." George says sheepishly.

I pull him into a hug, "Thank you. I'll never take it off." I whisper in his ear. I let go of him and he puts the necklace around my neck and does up the clasp.

"I have something for you too." I reach into my bag and pull out a large box, perfectly wrapped in the same black paper that my aunt and uncle used to wrap my presents.

He tears the paper off. The box is full with nearly everything from Zonkos joke shop. "Blimey, Violet! Thank you!"

"There's something else at the bottom there, I made it myself so it might not be very good," I say, I shrug my shoulder a bit not very confident in my crafting skills. At the bottom of the box is a wooden sign that has 'WEASLEYS' WIZARD WHEEZES' burned into it. George looks at me and smiles. "It's not much, I dunno, ever since you told me about you and Fred's joke shop dream I was thinking of names for it. I thought that one fit quite nicely."

"Are you kidding? It's perfect!" George sets the box and the sign down and hugs me tight. He lets go of me and there's an awkward sort of silence. Then he leans forward and pecks my lips. Very soft, one of those blink it and you miss it kisses.

George looks shocked with himself. "Oh um, I'm sorry." He mumbles.

My heart soars, my cheeks get hot. "No Uhm, it's okay really. It's fine." George smiles relieved.

"I'm going to go show this sign to Fred." He gets up and turns to face me. "Coming?"

"Uh yeah, I'll meet you down there." George shrugs and walks down the stairs. I can hear him faintly, talking to Fred. Once I'm sure he can't hear me I squeal and smile to myself. I stand up and do a little dance on the platform at the top of the stairs. George Weasley kissed me!

"George Weasley kissed me!" I whisper to myself. I pick up the now empty necklace box from the floor and stash it in my pocket. Best Christmas ever.


	10. Chapter 10

Once the holidays were over and the rest of the student body came back, things quickly went back to normal. I only told Walter about what I got up to over Christmas break, and needless to say, he was ecstatic for me.

Even Draco wasn't as annoying as he was before he left for the break. Until of course he got bored of not annoying me.

"Violet! Did you hear! Snape is going to be the referee for the next quidditch match! I'd love to see Potter try to pull the stunt he pulled last game again." Draco says to me one afternoon in between his classes.

"If Gryffindor wins their game against Hufflepuff then they will overthrow us in the house championship," Walter says, stepping into the conversation so I don't have to. Remind me to thank him later.

"Oh, I know! We can't let that happen. Where's Marcus? I have to talk to him about his game plan." Draco rushes off.

"He's not going to take advice from a first-year!" I call after him. Walter laughs and insists that (the boys on a mission Violet let it go).

After classes, Draco and his friends are laughing in the corner of the common room when I enter, but they make the mistake of hushing up when I pass. "Okay, what's up," I say, stopping in front of the group. Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise and Pansy all look at their feet.

"Draco practised the leg locking curse on Neville Longbottom!" Pansy says suddenly. Draco gives her a look but he doesn't say anything.

"You've got to be joking. Seriously Draco, what has he ever done to you?"

Draco cowers under my gaze. "dunno." He mumbled quietly. "I just wanted to see if I could actually pull it off is all." Some of the other students in the common room look over and start listening in on our conversation.

"Before you go hexing people, make sure they actually deserve it. No one will take you seriously if you just he people for the fun of it. Go do your homework. Aunt Narcissa says you're really far behind in your classes and I have to watch you more." His friends snicker and he gets very annoyed very quickly.

Draco storms off and Pansy follows him like a lost puppy. I join Clarissa, Emma, and Walter at the desks and throw my bag onto one of the empty ones.

"Woah there, take it easy," Clarissa says, moving her cup of tea away from me in case I knock it over.

"Sorry, I'm just. Stressed is all. Does anyone want a new cousin? he's nearly twelve but he acts like a toddler. Eight knuts or highest bidder." Walter thinks that's the funniest thing he's heard because he cannot stop laughing.

"Speaking of age. My birthday is on 19 January. What are we going to do?" Clarissa says shutting her textbook and taking a sip of her tea.

"Dunno. Whatever you want to do I guess." Emma says, not really paying attention. Ever since the Gryffindor and Slytherin quidditch matches her and Adrian have fallen out of touch. Before the holidays started she, very dramatically, gave him his quidditch sweater back.

"Don't tell me you're still moping about Adrian," I say, pulling out the parchment I need to finish my astrology notes.

Emma sighs, "Well, of course, I'm still moping about Adrian! Look at him over there, getting all cozy with that second year!" we all turn around to see. But Adrian isn't anywhere near the girl Emma is talking about. I mean sure they're sitting on the same couch and sharing an inkpot but that's it.

"Emma I think that's his little sister," Clarissa says, squinting in an attempts to get a better look at the situation.

"I thought you said you were getting glasses over the break," Walter says, turning back in his chair. He watches Clarissa open her textbook again and put her face rather close to the pages.

"Wut? I do not need glasses! Don't be daft."

"Really because the ink on your nose says otherwise. How close to your parchment do you have to be so you can see what you're writing?" I say looking up from my notes briefly.

She looks up at all of us, "I didn't come here to be totally ripped apart by you people. Just wanted to enjoy your company."

The rest of the night is full of banter and helping each other with our homework. It was late by the time we said goodnight to Walter and went back to our dorm room.

On the day of the Quidditch match, Draco begs me to come along "Violet, please! Let's go watch that those nasty Gryffindors lose!" I am very much not in the mood to go, especially not with Draco, but Walter insists.

"It'll be great crack and you can see him," Walter whispers into my ear as we make our way to the quidditch pitch. It's a lot colder outside than it was the last time I went to a match. I'm bundled up in my big winter cloak, scarf, gloves, ear muffs, and boots and I'm still cold. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle bound ahead of us promising to save Walter and I a seat.

"I would have gone to the game anyways. I just don't want to sit right next to Draco. I was hoping to sneak off after the game and say hello to some of the players." I say back to Walter. I make sure I don't say any names in case of curious ears around us.

"Okay but I can just keep Draco occupied while you go off. I'll just talk about quidditch till he gets bored." Walter says. We squeeze through the bleachers towards the spot that Draco chose to sit. Draco was already picking on Ron and his friends by the time we sit down. The game has already started.

"Sorry, didn't see you there Weasley." Draco sneers, Crabbe and Goyle laugh quite loudly. "Wonder how long Potter's going to stay on his broom this time? Does anyone want to bet? What about you Weasley? Granger? Anyone?"

"Draco enough, sit down." I snap at him. Ron looks at me quickly before fixing his eyes back on the match.

George hits a bludger towards Snape and he doges it. "Your boy's got guts I'll give him that," Walter says a little too loudly for my liking. I hit him in the stomach and he doubles over. Snape gives Hufflepuff a penalty and Draco cheers very loud.

"Do you know how I think they chose players for the Gryffindor team?" Draco says very loudly. I reach over and swat him on the back of the head to shut him up but it doesn't work. Snape awards Hufflepuff another penalty. ("I'm not saying I'm complaining but there was no need for that one," Walter says beside me) "It's people they feel sorry for. See, there's Potter who's got no parents." That one hurt me a little. "Then there's the Weasleys, who've got no money." The necklace George gave me suddenly feels heavier. "You should be on the team Longbottom, you haven't got any brains."

Walter chuckles at that comment but like Ron and his friend, his eyes are glued to the match. "Draco seriously!" I snap again. Draco falters slightly but he doesn't stop.

The little mousey looking boy, who I'm assuming is Longbottom says, "I'm worth 12 of you Malfoy." In a shaky voice. Even I laugh at that. Walter spits out his drink laughing at him.

He leans over to me, "What does that even mean?" I shake my head trying to stifle my laughter. Draco apparently takes my laughter as a cue to keep pushing.

"Longbottom, if brains were gold, you'd be poorer than Weasley. And that's saying something." The necklace around my neck gets heavier. I throw some of my popcorn at Draco for the comment. I watch Fred and George race towards a bludger and hit it out of the way of one of their chasers.

"I'm warning you Malfoy- one more word," Ron grumbles.

Suddenly Harry dives towards the ground like a bullet. "Damnit!" Walter yells, fully knowing Harry has spotted the snitch.

"You're in luck Weasley, Potter's obviously spotted some money on the ground!" Draco says. Before I can even react Ron jumps on Draco and wrestles him to the ground.

"Bloody hell Draco!" I jump from my seat, and that Longbottom kid does too. He throws himself into the fight, making my job a lot more difficult. "Boys! BOYS!" I scream. I grab ahold of one of their shirt collars and yank them back to me. I slowly manage to separate Crabbe and Goyle from Longbottom. "Crabbe! Goyle! GO over there now!" The two Slytherin boys go sit by Walter who is still watching the bloody quidditch match.

"Thank you," Longbottom whispers softly. I push him back into his seat and focus my attention on Ron and Draco who are still wrestling each other on the ground.

"Ron! Ron! Where are you! We won!" The frizzy-haired girl standing on her chair shouts. I finally manage to get Draco off of Ron and pull him away. He's got a nasty cut on his cheek, and one of his eyes is most definitely going to be black tomorrow.

"Go sit over there. Move a single finger and I'll have Snape send you home faster than you can blink do you understand me." I snarl at Draco. He shuffles over to my seat and plops down defeated. I reach down and help Ron up off the ground. Blood trickling from his nose. I hand him my handkerchief and he goes over to his friends and cheers for their win.

Spinning around I completely ignore Walter and grab Draco by the upper arm, dragging him out of the bleachers and somewhere private. I let him go once we make it down to the grass and I glare at him, a mixture of all the boy's blood is on the sleeve of my robe.

"He attacked me! What was I supposed to do? Roll over and let him!" Draco says.

The noise I make is inhuman. "Attacked you! Draco for the past ten minutes you were egging him on! I warned you three times to stop! THREE! But you just kept pushing him! Now, look at you! Your parents are going to have to send you new robes, you and the rest of those damn boys are going to have to go to the hospital wing to get checked out! Why, why must you push people like that!" Before he could say anything I held up my hand, stopping him in his tracks.

Walter comes down from the bleachers, followed by Crabbe and Goyle. "You two! Go to the hospital wing with Draco! I don't want to see you three again until you're bandaged up." I turn to my cousin, taking a step towards him, pointing my index finger into his chest. "The minute. No. The second Madam Pomfrey gives you the okay I want you back into the common room writing a letter to your parents explaining why you need a new set of robes and why you're going to come home with a mark on your face." The three boys hurry off to the castle.

As soon as they are over the hill I slump my shoulders and look at Walter. "That was terrifying. Real headmaster like of you." Walter jokes.

"You're a pain in my arse." I laugh. Walter swings one of his arms around me and we go back to the castle. I completely forget about my plans to meet up with George.

When Walter and I walk back into the common room Emma and Clarissa rush over, some of the students that were at the game saw what happened in the bleachers.

"I can't believe they attacked your cousin like that! How are you feeling?" Emma says. She takes my hand and leads me to a couch.

"I'm... fine? I did have to pull them off one another which was a lot more work than you would have thought." Emma gasps. Clarissa comes over with a blanket and wraps it around my shoulders.

"Where's Draco now? Is he alright?"

"Yeah, I sent him to the hospital wing with Crabbe and Goyle. Draco has to write to his parents asking for new robes and explaining what happened, and why he's going to have a scar on his face when he returns home after the school year is over."

Clarissa gasps, "That damn Weasley boy is going to leave a scar!?"

Walter shrugs, "I'm covered in scars. They build character is what my father always said to me."

Just like I told them to, as soon as they were released from the hospital wing, Crabbe, Goyle, and Draco all came back into the common room. All their first-year friends swarmed them with questions, but Draco wasn't answering any of them. Instead, he comes over to me and quietly asks for some parchment so he can write home.

"Let me read it before you go to the owlery. I don't want you lying." I hand him the parchment and he slumps away into his room.

It's nearly dinner time before Draco returns with the letter for his parents. I skim it quickly and nod. I put it in a spare envelope I have in my bag and seal it so Draco can't change it before he sends it off with Nutmeg.

"I'll go send this off with Nutmeg, I have something I'm going to send home too." Draco nods and leaves the dorm for the dinner bell. I turn to my friends. "Don't wait up, I'll meet you in the hall." They nod and head out. I toss my book bag in my dorm before I start making my way to the owlery.

As I pass the great hall I hear George yell "Oi!" from behind me. I slow down so he can catch up but I don't fully stop. "Did you see the game? Harry caught the snitch in like ten minutes! Even with Snape refereeing!"

Once we round the corner I stop and look at him head-on. "Have you seen Ronald recently?"

"Uhh. No?"

"You should probably have a talk with that brother of yours. He attacked Draco during your game."

George laughs and I storm off. "Wait, Violet!" He chases after me and grabs my wrist, spinning me around. "Draco probably deserved it. I mean he's been tormenting Ron and his friends all year."

"Oh, I'm not saying he didn't deserve it. He's been running his mouth all year. But for Ron to instantly jump to violence? That is not okay."

I rip my hand from George's grasp and walk out the door, walking swiftly across the courtyard to the entrance to the owlery.

"Violet!" George chases after me. When I reach the top of the stairs I turn and look at him, he's at the bottom of the stairs still, looking at me. "I'll talk to him about it I promise. Is Draco going to be okay?"

I laugh, "Yeah Draco's going to be fine, In need of some new robes but fine nonetheless." George nods and goes to leave. "George!" He turns and looks at me. "I'm sorry, I was acting like an arse. I'm just projecting my anger towards you because Draco never listens to me." George smiles. "You did great on the field today. But the bludger towards Snape was a tad bit uncalled for don't you think?" George laughs and I go into the owlery and give the letter to Nutmeg. I send her home and leave the tower, but by then George has already gone back inside.


	11. Chapter 11

The next two months were full of basic everyday stuff. I think that my little outburst worked on Draco because as far as I can tell, he hasn't been getting into any real trouble. I have, however, got into loads of trouble the other day when Filch caught me, the Weasley twins and Lee all out of bed after lights out. Which didn't end well at all.

Now George and I are stuck dusting off each and every picture frame in the school, while Fred and Lee scrub out the owlery. No magic of course.

"Last time I ever join in on one of your 'perfectly thought out plans'. Sneaking off to see the Shrieking Shack. Honestly." I say to George, I wipe down the frame in front of me a tad bit aggressively and the portrait inside cusses me out.

"Better watch yourself there LeStrange. Don't need to upset the paintings just because you're upset with me." George says. I roll my eyes hard.

"I'm not mad at you. Well... yeah, I'm a little mad at you. But mostly Lee and his squeaky shoes." I mimic the squeaking sound his shoes made with my mouth and George laughs.

"Would you rather this or the owlery?"

I sneeze as dust flies into my nose. "Hmm, grumpy old paintings or piles and piles of built-up bird poop. Such a hard decision." I try my hardest to soak my words in sarcasm.

Not only did I get detention for a whole weekend, but now the whole school knows I am friends with the Weasleys. Clarissa nearly cried, like real tears running down her face cried, and she hasn't talked to me since. Emma, Henrietta, and Miriam didn't mind as much. "At least they're purebloods" was Henrietta's comment on the whole thing. "That... oh, what's his name? Peter? Perry? Percy! He's sort of cute. In a weird nerdy way, isn't he?" Emma said. Ever since she found out that I'm friends with his brothers, she's been trying to get me to set her up with Percy. It was Draco that was the worst. He burst into my room after finding out and unlike Clarissa, actually did start crying. (But honestly, I think Draco was crying more about the fact that Harry Potter and I are sort of friends rather than the fact I'm friends with the Weasleys.) Then he wrote to Uncle Lucius who sent me a very strongly worded letter. Followed by a not so strongly worded letter from Aunt Narcissa who was 'happy I am making friends' to put it nicely. Two and a half years of sneaking around just thrown down the drain all because I wanted to go to the Shrieking Shack with George. The other two weren't even supposed to be there! But George is an oaf and makes far to much noise when he walks so of course, Fred woke up. Which then woke up Lee and his loud squeaky shoes, and-

"Violet?" George's voice cuts through my train of thought.

"Hmm? Sorry I was just daydreaming." Lie, but the thoughts swimming in my head are far to complicated to be talked about on a staircase.

George shakes his head at me, "I said if you were ever to be painted and hung at Hogwarts, what would you want to be remembered for. I would want to be painted with Freddy. Hung right above Filches office so that every time he walked in and out we could throw a balloon filled with maggots or something down on him."

The portrait in front of George scoffs. "That's now how this works you know. It's actually quite complex."

George cuts off the painting, "Sorry, but I don't really care too much about the logistics of it."

"I would want to be remembered for... honestly I dunno. I haven't done to much memorable stuff since I've been here."

"Not to worry. You still have four more years to be remembered for something! I'll help you come up with a plan if you want."

"Nope, no thank you. I will not be taking you up on that offer." George shrugged his shoulder as if to say 'suit yourself' and went back to cleaning. When the dinner bell rang. George and I threw our dusters into a nearby broom closet.

"Race you to the great hall," I say, before sprinting off down the hallway towards the main staircases. I reach the great hall seconds before George does.

"See you tomorrow Georgie," I say out of breath. I take a deep breath and walk towards my friends who are already at the Slytherin table.

"hey," Clarissa says when I approach.

"Talking to me again are you?" I say sitting down beside Walter.

Clarissa shrugs her shoulders. "Suppose I am yeah."

I reach across the table and pat her hand. "I've missed you." She puts her other hand on top of mine and smiles.

"Wait. When school first started, you said you fancied a pureblood boy in Gryffindor. Is it one of the Weasley twins!?" Emma shrieks.

The food appears, and I nod my head, "Yeah actually. It's George." The rest of the dinner I fill Emma and Clarissa in about the past two years and a half years and my relationship with the twins. But I spend the better half of dinner reliving the recent memories. Quidditch games, broom closets, and Christmas holidays leaving out the fact that I had them in our common room. Some things are better left untold. The whole time Walter pretends to be shocked whenever I say something, not like he hasn't heard it before but the girls don't need to know that.

"Wait so the whole time we were listening to Emma drone on about Adrian we could have been listening to this!?" Clarissa exclaims as we leave the great hall after dinner. ("well that wasn't very nice! I thought I was in love!")

"Essentially yeah. Oh, I forgot to show you what he got me for Christmas." I pull them out of the way of the students flowing out of the hall. I take the pendant out from under my robes and hold it out for them to see.

"Bloody hell!" Clarissa swears. "That must have cost a lot more than a few knuts!"

"Wait, that's not all." I take out my wand and unlock it. Emma gasps as it opens and the gold lion head starts to roar. "He said it's so I always have a piece of him with me."

"That's the cutest most disgusting thing I've ever hear in my life." Clarissa groans. She's not a fan of anything romantic. Honestly, I'm not much of a fan either but George is a special case.

Detention the next day was just as boring as the last, we did manage to finish early though. George asks me if I wanted to 'participate in completely not rule-breaking activities' but I have too much homework to catch up on after I spent the whole weekend cleaning.

Thankfully I have Monday mornings off because after the weekend I had I needed it. I slept in, skipping breakfast. When I wake up, however, there's a plate of food waiting for me on my bedside table with a note from Emma telling me how disappointed George looked at breakfast when he noticed I wasn't there. "I think it was George, but it could have been the other one. I dunno how you can tell them apart." I can practically hear her light airy voice as I read the last part.

After I finish eating, I put on my uniform and head out to my classes. But unfortunately for me, Draco comes crashing into the common room just as I'm about to leave.

"You better not be skipping a class right now," I say to him, picking up my book bag from beside the fireplace.

"Who me? I would never skip a class." Draco says as innocently as he can.

"uh-huh sure. Tell me what's going on."

Draco shifts his weight from one foot to the other. "I just overheard something that Potter and his friends were talking about." Draco sees the very unimpressed look on my face. "But I'm not going to do anything about it. I know you wouldn't want me to anyways." He rushes.

"Well alright then. As long as you don't do anything stupid. I don't think Aunt Lucius and Aunt Narcissa need another letter from Snape explaining our detentions. Slytherin doesn't need to lose any points either, we are only barely in second place."

Draco doesn't respond, he just rushes into the boy's dorms. I shrug it off, ever since he found out about me and the Weasleys he's been less clingy. I honestly kind of miss it.

Thoughts of Draco or anything for that matter leave my head as soon as I walk into potions. I grab a seat at the desk that Emma, Clarissa and Walter are sitting in. We share the time slot with the Ravenclaw student's so right now potions is one of my least favourite classes.

"What are the ingredients for Doxycide?" Snape says, slowly weaving through the desks. "Miss Fay."

Emma gulps and rifles through her parchment. Snape clicks his tongue and shakes his head. "Parchment is not allowed in the exam room, Miss Fay. All of this has to be mem-or-ized." He hits Emma's head with the butt of his wand with every syllable in memorized. Emma flinches away and looks at me defeated. "Miss LeStrange! The ingredients to the Doxycide potion!" Snape focuses his eyes on me sternly.

"Bundimun Ooze, Streeler shells, dragon liver, hemlock essence, tormentil tincture, and cow bane essence."

Snape nods approvingly. "Five points to Slytherin. LeStrange. Who invented the Doxycide potion?"

Clarissa and Walter watch me with intent, Emma is to buys burying her head in her hands to notice anything. "Zygmunt Budge. He invented it so he could temporarily stun Doxy's and remove of them properly. It is a black liquid that is typically stored in a spray bottle."

Snape turns to look at the Ravenclaw students, "Another five points to Slytherin, at least someone did the homework." Snape glides to the front of the class and stands there with his arms crossed. "Now, because of the sudden infestation of Doxy's in Gryffindor tower, you will make a perfect bottle of Doxycide. Each. Take out your cauldrons and begin. You have till the end of class. If it is not perfect by then, prepare to face... consequences."

"A perfect potion? In three hours? Snape's officially lost it." Walter whispers. I kick him under the table, Snape is standing right behind him.

"Make it two hours. I've decided to end class early today. You can all thank Mr Clarence for the time cut." The whole class groans, Walter sinks low into his stool.

"Come on now," I say. We all walk over to the ingredients cupboard and pull out what we all need. We sit back down and quietly begin preparing the ingredients. I follow the text exactly. And because Walter lost his potions book the first month of classes, he's sharing mine.

"Wait, why are you juicing your bundimum?" Walter whispers. I jab the end of my knife at the first step where it very clearly says to juice it. Walter makes an 'O' shape with his mouth and carefully picks up the bundimum. He shivers when its eyes look at his. But with a gulp, he crushes the bundimum in his hand and holds it over his vile. Sure enough, a bright green liquid seeps through his fingers and into the vile.

"Ugh, they smell so awful." Emma gags as she squeezes hers directly into her cauldron.

I make sure my bundimum is completely dry before I put on my protective gloves and pick out four Streeler shells from the bowl we grabbed.

"They're so pretty," Clarissa says, holding one close to her face between her gloved fingers. She's not wrong Streeler shells are beautiful. They change colour every hour. Highly poisonous though, I definitely am not about to hold it that close to my face. Clarissa is blind as a bat though so she has no other choice. I toss my shells into my mortar and pestle and start grinding them up. It takes forever because they have to be ground into a very fine powder for the recipe to work properly.

An explosion comes from the Ravenclaw side startling all of us. "Three points from Ravenclaw," Snap says in a very hollow voice. He doesn't even look up from the paperwork on his desk when he says it.

Once my shells are the right consistency I help Walter, making sure he doesn't end up poising himself. I begin to chop up the dragon liver into perfect 4.5cm cubes. Which again, takes forever.

Emma being Emma, forgot her ruler so she borrows mine when I'm done with the liver. With only half an hour left in class, I start to add the ingredients to my cauldron, following the steps as closely as possible. I pour in the bundimum juice and stir quickly, as soon as it hits the iron of the cauldron it starts to darken. Then I add all of the ground shells, heat my cauldron and begin to stir exactly seventeen times, allowing for the perfect amount of heat and the right consistency. The chopped liver is next. Scraping it into the mixture, I lower the heat and begin to stir fast and for about three minutes. My eyes flick from the task at hand to the big clock on the wall, making sure not to over mix. Beside me, Emma has realized her mistake and sobs quietly as she looks at her now pitch black bundimum juice sitting at the bottom of her cauldron.

"Add a pinch of salt to it." I whisper, "it undoes the effect the iron has on the juice." Emma thanks me silently, writes herself a note in her text so she remembers, and does as I say. When the three minutes are up, I completely turn off the flame under my cauldron and add a dash of hemlock essence. This part is tricky because seriously, how much is a dash? I spell the word one in my head as I pour and as soon as I'm done, I put the cap back on the essence. This time I stir thirteen and a half times without heat. For the glug of cow bane essence, I spell the word three. Which is longer than one but not by much. Then I spell one again for the tormentil tincture. I re-apply heat and stir eight times. Then I let it bubble without me touching it for six and a half minutes.

"Everyone good?" I look around me, all of my friends are nearly finished. The boy who caused the explosion on the Ravenclaw side has cleaned up his mess and has started again. Once the six and a half minutes pass, I pull the cauldron from the heat completely and wave my wand over the mixture to complete it.

I raise my hand and Snape comes over to inspect it. "Fifteen points for Slytherin. Miss LeStrange you may go, everyone else has twelve minutes remaining." Snap pours the mixture from my cauldron into a spray bottle and magics my station clean for me. I leave my book for Walter to use still and leave the classroom.

"Ever seen a baby dragon before?" George's voice comes out of nowhere.

"Bloody hell George!" he laughs at me and meets me halfway in the hall. "I can't say that I have. Have you ever seen a baby dragon before?"

George shakes his head. "Not in real life but Charlie sends me pictures of them every so often from Romania." We walk together out of the dungeons and into one of the main corridors.

"Why do you ask? You have a baby dragon just lying around?"

We turn a corner and make way for a group of Hufflepuffs coming towards us. "Well no, but I overheard Ron, Harry, and Hermione talking about them earlier today."

"Glad he's yours and not mine if I'm being honest."

Famous last words.


	12. Chapter 12

"Dragon! That big stupid oaf has a dragon!" Draco comes bursting into the common room after dinner. "Guys! Guys! Hagrid! He has a dragon!"

Everyone in the common room rolls their eyes and goes back to whatever they are doing. Everyone but me, unfortunately. All the gears click into place. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are friends with Hagrid. If Hagrid has a dragon then they would know about it.

Draco sits beside me on the couch by the lake. "Violet! I've seen it with my own two eyes. It's just a baby but it's going to grow really fast." He takes off his outer robes and tosses them on the floor.

"What do you mean you saw it?" I cover him with a blanket and he curls up in it.

"I mean I saw it! I heard 'perfect Potter' talking to his group of idiots about it so when they ran out of herbology as fast as they did I followed them. They ran right into that mixed breeds hut and I watched through the windows. Right before my eyes! A dragon hatched out of an egg!" Draco is very wound up, he keeps bouncing in his seat and is throwing his hands around when he talks.

"So you're telling me, that instead of reporting it to anyone, you just come running into the common room screaming about it?"

" I'll be reporting it Violet don't worry." Pause. "Can you help me with my herbology homework? I'm really behind and I don't understand any of it." The rest of the night is spent working on my own homework, but also trying to explain Draco's homework to him. Which consisted of me trying to remember first year which was a lot more difficult than you would think.

By about one in the morning, Draco was slumped over his textbook snoring softly. I finish off my final note for transfiguration and pack my stuff away. Gently, I pack Draco's stuff back in his bag as well. "Hey," I whisper softly. I brush Draco's har out of his face and he opens his eyes. "Head off to bed. It's late." He doesn't say anything back, he just nods and yawns really big. After picking up his bag is gives me a hug and I watch him shuffle down to the boy's dorms. Grabbing my own stuff I tip-toe past the seventh year that's passed out in front of the fire and quietly creak open my dorm room.

"Vi? Is that you?" Clarissa whispers.

"Yeah, it's me. Sorry if I woke you up, Clare."

She yawns and moves the curtain on her four-poster so she can see me. "Where were you? Out with your boy?"

I change into my pyjamas before I answer her and sit on my bed. "No, I was just in the common room helping Draco with his herbology stuff." I climb under the quilt on my bed and draw the curtains closed around me.

"Ugh. Boring" Clarissa mumbles. It only takes a second before I hear her snoring.

The next week was so normal I almost forgot about Draco and the dragon. Almost. He's been fantastic this week. Going to all his classes, asking for help when he needs it instead of just putting all the things he doesn't understand at the bottom of his bookbag, and he hasn't gotten in a single fight (that I know of).

On Saturday night, George and I snuck out of our dormitories and went on a late-night walk by the lake. That was our first mistake

"It's so beautiful at night. " I say turning around to look at the castle.

George intertwines his fingers with mine. "It is isn't it."

We turn back around and keep walking in silence. Just enjoying each others presence. "It's almost yours and Freds birthday! What should we do?" I say after a bit. Their birthday is a week.

"We should study for the upcoming exams," George says. He laughs at his own joke and I laugh with him. "Freddy and I have the whole day planned. We are going to set up pranks in almost every corner of the school the night before and watch it all unfold. It's going to be totally wicked. Best April fools that Hogwarts has ever seen."

"As long as you give me a map of where your pranks are hidden so I don't get covered in goo or something I support it one hundred per cent."

"Don't worry about that Violet. We'd never prank you. You're the only one who's even been able to tell us apart...Speaking of maps!" George pulls out an old bit of parchment from his back pocket. Only it's not an ordinary bit of parchment. George taps his wand on it and says "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" ink spreads from where his want hits the paper and the Marauders map appears on the paper. Fred and George found the map in Filches office during one of their first-ever detentions at Hogwarts. He won't tell me how they figured out how to use it but I can only imagine it consisted of a lot of wand tapping and cursing.

George unfolds the map and focuses on the two dots labelled 'Violet LeStrange' and 'George Weasley'. No one was around so he went to put the map away.

"Wait look, someone's coming." I point at the castle on the map. "Harry and Hermione. Are you joking?"

George grabs my hand and pulls me into some nearby bushes, our second mistake. "They are practically right on top of us. But where are they.." he whispers. We watch the field in front of us but neither of us sees anything. Until I notice the grass is pressed down by footprints.

"An invisibility cloak? How did they even find one?" I whisper as I point at the moving footsteps in the grass so George can see what I'm looking at.

He pulls the map out again, "They're going to Hagrid's hut." He whispers. We watch as the two little dots stop at Hagrid's hut for a moment and then return the way they came, only much slower.

Once they are far enough ahead of us, George stands up from the bushes. That's when I notice the rash covering his exposes skin. I jump out from the bush too and immediately feel itchy all over. George looks at me with wide eyes, "What the bloody hell is wrong with your face!" He whisper yells at me.

"I could say the same thing about you!" I whisper yell back at him. I walk back towards the bushes and take a second look at the leaves we were hiding in. "It looks like poison oak," I whisper. Turning around, I see George leaning up against a nearby tree using it to itch his back.

"Fookin hell." George curses.

"George! Language!" I snap at him.

He stops rubbing against the tree and looks at me. "Look at us, Violet! I think now is the perfect scenario to start swearing!" A giggle erupts from my mouth and I try really hard not to start laughing but I can't help it. It's what happens when I'm in stressful situations.

George starts laughing too, "Will you stop that! We are going to get caught and it's going to be your fault!" He's annoyed with me now but he can't stop laughing.

Once we calm down and actually start thinking again, George remembers that the seaweed that grows in the lake is an instant antidote for poison oak. "Thank you Professor Sprout" he whispers. We rush over to a relatively covered part of the lake, making sure not to touch the surrounding plants.

"Right then. Hop in the lake Weasley." I say to him, gesturing at the waters in front of us.

"Wut? No, I don't think so. You get into the lake."

I roll my eyes and turn my whole body to face him. "You're the one that remembers what the seaweed looks like. Now you go in and get it. Give me the map and I'll keep an eye out for anyone coming or going."

George grumbles in agreement, kicking off his shoes and taking off his socks. "Well turn around! I don't need you seeing me just in my boxers!" I nod and awkwardly turn around. When I hear him splashing into the water I turn back around. He is neck-deep in the water. I see him mumble something before he dives under the water.

I turn my attention to the map. I can see myself at the edge of the waters, and I can see George in the middle of the lake. I open a few folds, and I notice that Draco is with McGonagall in the castle. "That damn kid. I'm going to kill him." I whisper to myself. I turn my attention back to the spot on the map that George and I are on. I see a dot moving rather quickly, from the castle down the field. "Professor Quirrell?" I whisper. I duck down as he approaches, watching him through the leaves of the bushes around me.

The water splashes behind me and I hear George gasp for breath. I snap my head around at him, and put my finger on my lips, signalling for him to shut up. He lowers himself into the water so just his eyes and the top of his head can be seen. If you weren't specifically looking for anyone, you would think he was just a rock.

Quirrell is out of my direct line of sight now so I look back at the map. His dot is moving quickly to the forbidden forest, then into the forbidden forest. "George hurry!" I whisper to him.

George comes out of the water as quietly as he can. I pull a spare cloak out from my little coin purse and give it to George so he can dry off before he gets changed. He has already eaten the seaweed so his skin looks a lot better. Once he's dry and dressed he passes me the rest of the seaweed and I give him the map back, pointing at the forbidden forest as I do.

As soon as the seaweed hits my tongue I feel relief over my whole body. I chew quickly and swallow. I look at my hands, and the rash is already gone. "that's weird right?" I whisper to George.

"We have to get out of here." He whispers back to me. He gives me the now wet cloak back and I stuff it in the coin purse. George keeps an eye on the map, specifically Quirrell, as we run back towards the castle. Once in the castle, George walks me back to the Slytherin common room, using the map to make sure we don't get caught.

"See you, tomorrow love." He whispers as I open my common room door. Before I step in, I peck him on the cheek.

"Thanks for the adventure, Weasley." I whisper. "get back safe." The door closes behind me and I tiptoe back into my dorm undetected.

Before I go to bed, I lay out my wet cloak and wave my wand over it a few times. It dries out in seconds and I stuff it back into its rightful spot. Thankfully, I was already in my pyjamas so I just open the curtains enough to slide in and hide under the quilt before anyone wakes up. I know that tomorrow I'm going to be bone-tired but it was worth it in every meaning of the world.

I fall asleep with George on my mind, but my dreams are full of Quirrell, and then George, and then George morphing into Quirrell as he shouts at me "EAT THE SEAWEED" over and over again.


	13. Chapter 13

Emma smacks my head with a pillow. A fantastic way to wake up after a long night in my opinion. "You better go talk to Draco. He's lost us twenty points."

I turn in bed so I'm lying on my back and press my palms into my eyes. "washappenin" I mumble, my voice soaked in that early morning raspiness.

"He's in the common room. Go sort him out because the seventh years are ready to fight him." And with that Emma turns on her heels and walks out of our dorm. I sit up, get out of bed, and clumsily change into something comfortable; loose joggers and the sweater Mrs Weasley made for me.

As soon as step foot in the common room, yawning and rubbing my eyes Draco comes dashing up to me and throws his arms around my waist. "Don't let them hurt me! I didn't mean it I swear!" He says, his voice muffled. His little gang of first years come rushing over and they all start talking at once.

An older girl pushes past me into the dorms, "Control him." She says to me in a hushed voice.

I take Draco's hand and lead him out of the common room so we can talk without being interrupted. Together we start walking rather aimlessly through the halls.

"So I heard about Potters dragon, and saw it hatch, you remember that part right?" I nod a few times, I'm still not awake enough for this conversation. "And well I stole- not actually stole, more of borrowed a book when I went to visit Ron in the hospital wing. The dragon bit him did you know? His hand is a nasty shade of green and its all swollen."

When we turn the corner, Fred, George, and Lee are all standing there. Fred waves at me but I shake my head no, jutting my chin out to point at Draco beside me who's not paying any attention. He's still rambling, trying to avoid getting to the point of his story. "He really shouldn't have attacked me at quidditch. This is all his fault really, if he didn't fight me then I wouldn't have wanted to get him in so much trouble. Where was I?"

I yawn and stretch, "You stole a book from Ron Weasley."

"Yes right. Well in the book was a note from his brother Charlie. He breeds dragons in Romania you know? Well of course you know, you actually talk to them. Nasty behaviour by the way but you're my family so I can't hate you for that. Anyways the letter said to bring the dragon to the tallest Hogwarts tower to meet Charlie's friends there so they can take the dragon to Romania. Quite a genius plan for Weasley and Potter if you ask me. I swear they have half a brain each."

Now the invisibility cloak makes sense. Harry and Hermione were carrying the dragon underneath it. "So you went to the tower to meet them and get them in trouble, but instead landed yourself in detention and lost us twenty points instead."

We go to turn into a hallway, realize that Peeves is circling about, and quickly change direction. "Well yes. I didn't expect McGonagall to come up behind me and grab me. My ear is still sore. But when I tried to tell her that Potter was coming with a dragon she didn't believe me! The note said to meet at midnight so I really dunno how we didn't see them in the tower because I know there really was a dragon. I saw it hatch!"

"You have got to start learning to mind your own business Draco. All of this could have been avoided if you didn't interfere with other peoples lives. You have to put you first. It's nearly April. Then comes review, then come exams. And you're not prepared for those, I can tell you that one for free."

"At least I didn't lose us one hundred and fifty points! You didn't let me tell you the best part. Harry, Hermione, and Neville all lost fifty points for Gryffindor and got detention!"

I stop in my tracks and look at Draco. "Well, now I'm a bit conflicted." Draco laughs. "Just please, during exams study hard and make it so I can also study. I really don't need any distractions." Draco nods. I ruffle his hair and gently push him away by his head. When we pass the great hall, he sees a bunch of his friends.

"Am I good to go?" he says. I nod and he darts away towards the Slytherin first years. Instead of following him into the great hall and sitting with the Slytherins, I retrace my steps to the hallway that we saw the twins in.

"Morning boys," I say as I approach them.

George spins around at the sound of my voice. "Beautiful morning it is! Violet! Haven't seen you in ages! How have you been, we must catch up." George says very dramatically.

Fred looks from his brother to me and back to his brother. "What the bloodyhell was that?"

George and I laugh as I step over to him and hug his waist. He puts his arm around me and squeezes me tight. "Dunno what you're talking about there Fred."

"Yeah. Are you feeling okay? You're not making much sense." I say George laughs harder than before.

"Haven't got a single clue as to what just happened there if I'm being quite honest with you," Lee says, his forehead scrunched in confusion.

Fred shakes his head as if he's trying to shake the situation into making sense. "Anyways. Ickle Ronnie-kins is being released from the hospital wing today. Still, dunno how he managed to get bitten by a dog at Hogwarts but nevertheless. Shall we go visit him?"

"He wasn't bitten by a dog you know," I say, the four of us walking towards the hospital wing.

"What do you mean wasn't bitten by a dog. What was he bitten by? And how do you know?" Lee says. I quickly fill them in on the dragon and what the youngest Weasley has been getting up to in his spare time.

"Fookin hell. That little bugger is coming for our legacy." Fred says after I finish.

George shakes his head, "Sneaking a dragon out of Hogwarts." George looks at Fred. "Do you know what I'm thinking there Freddy boy?"

Fred smirks and looks from the floor to his brother, "If one can be snuck out, one can be snuck in."

"Precisely my good man."

Lee and I look at each other, "Absolutely not!" we say in unison.

"Blimey, you sure you two aren't the twins?" Fred jokes.

We don't stay in the hospital long, Madam Pomfrey gets annoyed with the twins rather quickly, especially after they break nearly three of her medicine vials. None of us say anything about what really bit Ron. We don't really need him to be expelled from school.

I spend the rest of the day with the boys doing a bunch of nothing. I suggest at one point that we should all be studying but that doesn't go over well. The three boys ended up tackling me to the ground and tickling me till I say, uncle.

April and May fly by in a blur. The Weasleys day of pranks went over very well, but just like George promised, I wasn't affected by any of them. In fact, the only reason I knew it was actually happening was because the whole school was talking about it. We didn't really do much for my birthday. It falls on 25 May. Far to close to exams to have any fun in my opinion. George still managed to put a smile on my face when he sent me a bouquet of flowers he picked from the grounds. "Don't worry, there's no poison oak I checked" the note attached said.

About a week before exams started Draco got a note from McGonagall about his detention. "The forbidden forest! She's mad! I'm not even allowed to go in there! It's forbidden for a reason!" Draco complains loudly.

This doesn't sit well with any of the Slytherins, myself included. "Why send a child, a first-year into the forest! And with the stupid groundskeeper as a guard!" Clarissa says, vocalising my own thoughts.

"Write to your uncle! He's on the board, isn't he? He's got to do something!" Walter says. Draco is moaning and groaning on the other side of the room, his friends trying to comfort him.

"Even if Nutmeg leaves right now, she'd never make it home with my note and back with Uncle Lucius' note before eleven pm. I don't want to be that person, but he does deserve punishment for being out after curfew." I haven't told anyone, not even Walter that I was out with George that same night. I fee; guilty enough that Draco was caught and I wasn't.

"Okay but I don't think that taking a bunch of first years into the forbidden forest after curfew a proper punishment for breaking curfew!" Emma cries, we all nod in agreement. Why punish people for breaking curfew with an activity that's going to be happening after curfew.

My friends and I stay up all night. I was going to stay up by myself, to worried about Draco to sleep, but once the rest of them found out my plans they joined me in the common room. The three of them study while I pace back and forth. Draco left for detention at eleven. That was four hours ago.

"Violet. What are dried nettles used for." Emma asks me, she's been giving me the occasional exam question so I can keep my mind occupied with anything bit thoughts of Draco being killed by a werewolf.

"Uhh. It's used in the boil-cure potion, and also in nettle wine and nettle tea. That's an easy one."

Walter groans "Oh yeah. An easy one." I watch him out of the corner of my eye scratch out his note and replace it with what I just said.

The common room door opens and Draco stumbles in. "Draco! Look at you! Come here come." I throw my arms open and he comes over to me.

"There was- I- we had to look for an injured unicorn. And Harry and I- we saw someone or something. He was eating the unicorn. Sucking its blood.

Clarissa claps her hand over her mouth. Walter pours Draco a cup of tea and Draco and I sit on the couch. "Did you see who it was?" Emma says.

Draco shakes his head and takes a big drink of his tea. "Hagrid said that there was an attack end of March and he found a unicorn drained of its blood. And he saw fresh unicorn blood earlier today so he needed people to help him investigate."

Chills go down my spine. The image of Professor Quirrell's dot on Georges map comes flooding into my head. That happened end of March, the timeline works. Once Draco has finished his tea I send him off to bed.

"I think I know who Draco saw in the forest," I say once I hear Draco's door close. I tell my friends about sneaking off with George and that we saw Quirrell running into the forbidden forest. I don't mention the map at all. That will always remain a secret.

"Okay, but why would Quirrell need unicorn blood? Why would anyone need unicorn blood?" Walter says in a hushed voice. I pick up my care of magical creatures book from the coffee table and flip to the back.

"Here! It says unicorn blood silver in colour, okay blah blah blah. Wait here. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch away from death but at a terrible price. Because a unicorn is so pure and innocent, slaying a creature like that comes with a curse. If you drink the blood of a unicorn you will only have a half-life, a cursed life." I read directly off the page. I look up from my book and I'm met with three stunned faces.

"So Quirrell is sick?" Emma asks

"Sick in the head. Who would do that to such a beautiful creature?" Clarissa chimes in.

"Never liked him. Never not once." Walter says, his is face looks disgusted, he shakes his head.

I close my book. "Exams are in a week. That's what we have to focus on now. None of this Quirrell business. Let's just get good grades and forget about any distractions yeah?" I say. My three friends nod in agreement. We pack up and head off to bed.

When I close my eyes, flashbacks of that night flow past my eyelids. What if Quirrell saw us? What if we never got poison oak? What if George never remembered the fact about the seaweed? So many questions rattle in my head making it difficult to fall asleep.


	14. Chapter 14

Exams at Hogwarts starts the first week of June. In the blistering heat, making it very difficult to focus on anything. The worst part of exams though? The quills we have to use on all of our tests are charmed with an anti-cheating spell. Which makes sense but they are very old and your hand hurts loads after using one.

"Here take this. We figured out the charm the teachers use on the quills and found the counter curse. This one is for history of magic." George says to me in the halls between exams. He places an exact replica of the test quills on the pile of books I'm carrying.

"George no! Take it back." I whisper yell at him. He puts his hands in the air as a sign of defeat and takes the quill and puts it back in his pocket. "How did you two even figure that out?"

"I've been doing magic since before I could walk. Mum always said I was an early bloomer, to smart for my own good, 'oh Georgie you could achieve so much if you just focused on your school'. So I focused on my school's quills and managed to figure it out." He says cheekily.

"You're impossible you know that right?"

"Look who's talking. Like hanging around you is a walk in the park."

The bell rings, "I have to go, I have my herbology exam, and then my history of magic one and I'm finished." I tell George.

"All I got left is transfiguration. I'll see you after." He pecks my cheek and rushes off down the hall. I spin around and head the other way to the greenhouses.

I make it to the greenhouses just in time. My friends are already sitting at the makeshift desks they brought in for the exams.

"This school has to take a page out of the muggles books and invest in some air conditioning," Walter whispers to me as I sit down beside him.

"Some wut?"

Walter shakes his head, "Its this thing that muggles have. There's a little box on the wall and you use the nobs on it to control how hot or cold your house is. The box controls the machine that you have outside your house and it pumps either hot or cold air through vents in the floors." He explains quickly.

"That doesn't even make sense, how would the box on the wall be able to tell the machine outside what to do?"

"Silence!" Professor Sprout says loudly from the top of the class. She waves her wand and test papers fly around the room and land on everyone's desks. "You have two hours. Starting now."

As soon as Professor Sprout takes our papers, all the Slytherins run back to the castle to make it to Professor Binns classroom.

Two hours later and we walk out of the classroom officially done with third year. "Aaargh." Walter grunts, snapping his quill in half. He throws it to the ground and stomps on it.

"Was that really necessary?" Emma says, stepping over Walters smashed quill.

"I failed that exam. I just know it." Walter kicks at the splinters of his quill.

I can hear Fred and George laughing, turning around I see them looking at their map. I spin back to my friends. "Look, we are done with classes. We are still stressed. Why don't you all come with me and we can hang out with the Weasleys by the lake or something. You'll like them once you get to know them."

Walter nods in agreement, so does Emma. But Clarissa is hesitant. "I don't know. What if someone sees me talking to them? My parents will have a fit."

"Come off it Clare. Do you see any parents around? No ones going to be paying attention to you anyways, exams just finished!" Walter says.

We walk over to the twins. George isn't particularly good with talking to new people, he's honestly quite shy if you don't know him. But Fred is always ready to meet new people, which means that George ends up meeting loads of new people.

"Boy's how are we all," I say walking up to the two. I give Fred a one-armed hug and go stand by George.

"Ah, not so bad. McGonagall really put us through the wringer for that transfiguration exam huh." Fred says. He looks to my three friends who are standing awkwardly a few feet away. "Looks love Violet brought company! My names Fred, the older, funnier, and all-around more attractive twin to that old bag over there." Fred sticks out his hand towards my friends, shaking each of their hands respectively.

"Dunno about that one there Freddy. Who has the exotic Slytherin girlfriend you or me?" George steps to my friends. "George Weasley, but Violet's probably told you all about me." That was the first time George has ever called me his girlfriend, and I think noticed it too as soon as he said it out loud.

Fred gently pushes Walter, Emma, and Clarissa towards the door. "Walking is for the boring. Come now let's skip on ahead. Those two need to have a conversation about what Georgie just said most likely." Fred starts skipping off out the door. The three Slytherins look at each other, shrug, and skip off with Fred out the door.

"That was okay, right? Calling you my girlfriend like that?" George's face was as red as his hair. He pushes the door open for me and we step out into the sunlight.

I stop him and pull him close to me, gently placing a kiss on his lips. "Course it is Georgie. That's what I am aren't I?"

George grows significantly redder in the face. "Yeah, yeah it is." He gets awkward so he reaches up and ruffles the hair on the top of my head.

"You're an absolute weirdo," I say moving out of his reach. He laughs and grabs my hand holding it in his. Together we start running towards Fred and the others who are feeding the giant squid that lives in the lake some of the bread I assume Fred took from the great hall at breakfast.

"Everything sorted little Georgie Porgie? Not making the girls cry are you?" Fred says, referencing an old nursery rhyme.

George looks at me and I nod before he answers, "Yeah everythings nice and sorted away."

"Very good. You two are quite adorable you know." Fred says nonchalantly. He tosses some bread at the squid, turns around and winks both me and George.

We stay by the lake till the dinner bell rings. Thankfully all my friends seem to like the twins. No fights start, no arguments are had.

The next week was quiet, especially for the Slytherins. As a house, we spent loads of time outside and in the sun, playing games of tag, and gobstones, cloud watching, and all-around having a pretty fantastic week. I spent a lot of my time with the twins and Lee as well. Walter and Emma joined me on many of the adventures with the twins. Clarissa opted to stay with Henrietta and Miriam and hang out with our house.

I didn't see George or Fred for all of Thursday and the better half of Friday, which is pretty strange given we don't have classes.

"Lee, have you seen the boys at all recently?" I ask at afternoon tea on Friday.

"Haven't you heard? Harry, Ron, and Hermione found out that Dumbledore was hiding the philosophers stone in Hogwarts, found out that Quirrell wanted it, and then killed him! Ron has been in the hospital nearly all week. Percy, Fred, and George have been with him since Wednesday night."

Confusion, sadness, anger, worry all bubble up inside me. "What do you mean they killed Quirrell?"

Lee takes a bite of his ham sandwich and swallows hard. "Well, I dunno how they did it exactly. Rumour has it that Harry cast the killing curse but I don't believe that for a single second." Lee takes a sip from his water cup. "How have you not heard of this? It's been everything anyone can talk about for the past two days!"

"No one really tells us Slytherins much of anything. Thanks, Lee." I say. I walk back over to Walter and Emma and tell them everything Lee told me. Ever since that day with the squid, Clarissa has distanced herself from us. She says its got nothing to do with the Weasleys but I don't believe that for a second.

By the end of year dinner, all of Slytherin is talking about what happened with the three first-year Gryffindors and Professor Quirrell. We are all still talking about it as we wait for the feast to appear on the tables in the great hall. I notice that George, Fred, and Percy are all sitting at the Gryffindor table, beside them are Ron and Hermione. Before the feast starts, Harry comes running in. The whole room quiets as he enters.

"Bloody hell," Walter whispers to me.

Dumbledore stands and moves from the headmaster's chair to the podium. He taps his wand on the podium and all eyes shift to him. "Another year gone! And I must trouble you with an old mans wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully, your heads are a little fuller than they were... you have a whole summer to get them nice and empty again before next year starts..."

Emma leans close to me and whispers, "Some peoples heads already are." She sticks her tongue out at Crabbe and Goyle who have managed to get Goyle's wand stuck in the wooden table. Emma and I snicker.

"Now as I understand it, the house cup needs awarding!" Dumbledore continues. I grab Walter and Emma's hands. Last time I checked, Slytherin was in the lead. "In fourth place Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points." Gryffindor table groans and we all clap. "In third place, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two points." Everyone claps again, including the Hufflepuffs. "In second place. Ravenclaw, with four hundred and twenty-six." The Slytherin table starts cheering very loudly.

"We've done it!" Walter yells. Emma and I hoot along with the rest of our house.

"Which leaves first place! Slytherin with four hundred and seventy-two points!" We cheer louder. I can see Draco further down hitting the table with his hands hollering loudly. "Yes, congratulations Slytherin! However, recent events must be taken into account."

Slytherins stop any and all noise, I swear I saw a few of us stop breathing. "He's got to be mad. He's going to give points to the Gryffindors I know it." Emma hisses.

"I have a few last-minute points to hand out. First. To Ronald Weasley." I watch as Ron goes a deep shade of red. The twins clap him on the back rather hard. "For the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years. I award Gryffindor... fifty points."

Gryffindor cheers loudly. "You're kidding! Fifty points for wizard chess!" A nearby Slytherin wails.

Dumbledore puts his hand up and the room goes quiet. "Second, to Miss Hermione Granger, for the use of cool logic in the face of fire. I award Gryffindor fifty points." Again a roar from Gryffindor. Hermione sinks low in her seat. At this point, all the Slytherins are furious, myself included.

"Third- to Mister Harry Potter. For pure nerve and outstanding courage. I award Gryffindor house... sixty points." This is the loudest the great hall as ever been. I swear the ceiling raises slightly, the stars in the sky shake from the noise.

"They are tied with us! Exactly four hundred and seventy-two points!" Walter shouts. Slytherins start banging on the table in anger.

"There are all kinds of courage!" Dumbledore continues, the room goes quiet again. Slytherins are red in the face from their bubbling anger. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I, therefore, award ten points to Mister Neville Longbottom." That did it. The room shook with the noise that came from the Gryffindor table. Some of the students climb onto the top of the table and scream.

"Fookin hell." Walter takes off his wizard cap and slams it onto the table. Emma starts sobbing. I nearly do the same. I look over to Draco, he's red-faced and cursing. For once I'm not going to call him out on it. Even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff are cheering.

"which means! We need a little bit of re-decorating." Dumbledore claps his hands, the once green hangings now turn a (no offence to my red-headed boyfriend) a very gross red colour, and the Slytherin serpent is replaced with a towering lion. "Let the feast commence!"

The tables instantly fill with nearly every food imaginable. Though we didn't win the cup, it is still a fantastic evening. Some of the older Slytherins snuck in fire whiskey and they passed the bottles down the line so everyone in third year and above could have some, though I'm sure a few first years took a sip or two.

Before we leave the great hall, the heads of each house come to our tables and hand back our exam results. Snape flicks his wand and the envelopes go flying to their respective students.

"Merlin's beard! I actually passed history of magic!" Walter shouts. I clap him on the back. I open my envelope and look at my grades.

"Wow, Violet. Nearly perfect in all of your classes? I'm impressed." George says once I meet up with him outside the hall.

"What about you, lemme see." I snatch his test results from his hand. Like mine, they are nearly all perfect. "You didn't cheat on all of these did you?" I question jokingly.

"Only History of Magic. Honest. I can't understand a word that Binns says."

"That's impressive. I'm proud of you."

George shrugs. "I'm going to change them before anyone else sees them. I don't need mum and dad crying happy tears or whatever they do when they see Percy's results. I'd much rather them think that I'm not very bright. It's going to make starting a business with Fred all the more impressive."

Like he knew we said his name, Fred comes over to us "I didn't fail!" Didn't do very well, but at least I get to move into fourth year! How about you Georgie boy?" Fred's voice is scratchy from cheering so loud earlier.

"Just barely made it past, even with that quill for history of magic. Violet got nearly perfect!" George says quickly changing the subject.

"Course she did! You've got a smart one there. Still don't quite understand what you see in him though Vi if I'm being quite honest with you."

I look at George, who's blushing like mad. "He's a cutie pie," I say, pinching one of George's bright red cheeks.

"Ew gross. Not in the mood to watch this unfold. Congratulations LeStrange. I'll see you on the train tomorrow. See you later Georgie!" Fred says, darting away to talk to some of his other friends.

I look back at George. "So you don't tell Fred about your grades either?"

"I don't want him to feel bad. He's not very school smart. He's still a genius though."

"That's adorable."


	15. Chapter 15

Packing up for the summer holidays is the worst thing to do. You can't forget anything or else the house elves will steal it. I made that mistake first year. I forgot a blouse, thinking that it will just be mailed to me over the summer. But when I showed up for second year I saw a house-elf wearing it as a dress.

Clarissa no longer talks to either Emma or me. She doesn't even look in my direction when I wish her a happy holiday before I leave the dorm. It hurts, quite a lot. But I'm happy that it happened now rather than years into the future. Knowing where she stands is important. Figuring out where I stand is important too and I think I've finally started to accept that its okay to go against your family when it comes to certain beliefs.

"All packed Draco?" I ask him when I see him in the common room.

"Yes ma'am. Checked under my bed and everything." Draco waves to his friends and promises to sit with them on the train. He follows me to the common room door and we head off to the train together.

"How'd you like your first year?"

Draco shrugs, his trunk hitting mine as we leave the dungeons. "It was good. Too much classwork though. It would have been better if Potter was sorted into Slytherin. Then there wouldn't have been a Weasley running around. I could have been his friend." Draco starts on one of his rants about how much of a better friend he would have made in comparison to Ron but I have mastered the art of tuning him out and that is exactly what I do.

"Wait, Violet. Who takes care of the common room cat while we are away for the break?" Draco asks.

Truth is I haven't thought of it. "I assume it falls on the house-elves." Draco and I leave the castle, along with a group of other students. We load our trunks in the self pulling carriages and they drive us down to the train platform. Students bustle back and forth, saying goodbye to their favourite professors and such. Draco and I pass Hagrid, who is hugging Harry tightly. Draco gags.

"You know. If you didn't do stuff like that, I'm sure Harry would be your friend." I haul my trunk onto the train and then step back onto the platform to help Draco. Walter and Emma get off the self-driving carriages and come over to help me with Draco's trunk.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you won't be sitting in the Slytherin car?" Walter says once we are all loaded into the train.

"You don't mind do you?" I ask them.

Walter and Emma look at each other before Emma responds. "Actually, we were wondering if we could sit with you and the twins."

"And Lee of course!" Walter says cheerily. Together we walk towards the car that Fred called me into the first time we went to Hogwarts. They have sat there every year since, and they gently bully people out of the booth if someone gets there first.

I knock politely on the door, Fred slides it open. "You need a place to sit?" he says in the same voice he used three years ago.

"Do you mind? I've brought some friends along." I step into the booth and Emma and Walter follow.

"More the merrier!" Lee says cheerily.

I sit beside George and lean my head on his shoulder. Emma sits beside me, Walter sits on the opposite bench with Fred and Lee. For the next few hours, we joke and remember the year together. I try to soak up as much of it as possible, knowing that during the summer it's going to be nearly impossible to see George and Fred. And knowing my Uncle it's going to be hard to talk to them too. Uncle Lucius is notorious for intercepting mine and Dracos mail. Once the train pulls into kings cross station, all six of us are changed into our street clothes. Everyone but George and I leave the booth.

"Try not to forget me over the summer holidays," I say to him once we are alone.

George laughs quietly. "As if that's even possible" He whispers, pulling me close and kissing me gently.


	16. Part 2, Chapter 1

Summer holiday. It's supposed to be fun, exciting, new. But no, not for me. No matter how many family outing we had, or how many time Draco dragged me off into the garden to watch him fly on his new broom, my mind was stuck on one specific wizard. George Weasley.

The Weasley family are basically my uncle's unofficial enemies. They're a pure-blood family but because they associate with muggles and muggle-born wizards my uncle claims they're blood traitors. I've been friends with two of the Weasleys for roughly three years, nearly four years now. Last year actually George and I began dating. And it was fantastic. But then I came home for the summer break and every time George tried to write me, Uncle Lucius stole the letter and tossed it in the fire. His excuse? "Summer is time for your family. You'll get to see him in September. We only get you for two months."

Annoying. I know.

I've been in a mood all summer, until August 3. When Aunt Narcissa knocked on my bedroom door.

"Violet?" She calls calmly from the doorway.

I move from the middle of my bed and sit on the edge of it. "Come in Auntie."

My Aunt is beautiful. Like absolutely stunning. If there's one thing I'm certain about is that I want to look like her when I grow older. Her brown and blonde hair is always perfectly groomed, her shirts always perfectly ironed. She holds herself up with a specific level of confidence that I aspire to have.

Aunt Narcissa sits beside me and takes my hand in hers. "I know you've been missing your friends this summer." She says.

Almost instantly tears well up in my eyes. The only people that I've been able to see besides my family are Draco's friends Crabbe and Goyle. Emma has gone to France for the summer, and Walter is a half-blood and though Uncle Lucius doesn't know that, neither of us want to risk him finding out.

"I'm sorry Auntie. I don't mean to be such a stick in the mud. I'll try harder." I whisper, sobs getting caught in my throat.

Aunt Narcissa pulls me in for a hug. "I feel like you're going to be less of a stick in the mud in a second." She says smiling. She lets me go, and I wipe my tears away. She reaches into her skirt pocket and pulls out a crumpled envelope. She flattens it out a bit and hands it to me.

I recognize the chicken scratch handwriting on the front of it almost immediately. George. I look up to her and smile. "Now, Lucius and I have already read it of course. But by the way, this is worded, it doesn't look like we are going to have much say in how you spend the rest of your summer. It took a very, very long discussion but your uncle and I have agreed to let you stay the rest of the summer with the Weasleys. Your uncle, Draco, and I will meet you in Diagon Alley to buy your school supplies at the end of the month. Whether you come with us to kings cross or go with the Weasleys is up to you." She stops and takes a deep breath, "I have already lost a sister to blood tolerance." She says referencing to her older sister Andromeda, "I'd rather not lose my daughter as well."

That does it. Tears fall down my cheeks. "I- I dunno. Thank you!" I wail.

Aunt Narcissa laughs slightly. "This doesn't mean that we approve of your relationship with those blood traitors. We have come to the conclusion that you are getting older, and you are allowed to make your own decisions and face the consequences of those decisions. And I know from experience. That just because your family forces you to be a certain way does not mean that you will end up like that. I'd rather not approve of your relationship with them but still have a relationship with you than you still have a relationship with them but stop talking to us. Does that make any sense?"

We are both crying now. I pull my aunt into a tight hug and cry into her shoulder. "Okay," She says, sitting up from my bed. She smiles and wipes the tears off her face. "If your mother knew we were letting you do this she'd have my head." She laughs and shakes her head, clearly thinking of my mother Bellatrix. "You better pack. By the sound of that letter, your friend George is on his way tonight. She turns and leaves my room, closing the door behind her.

As soon as she leaves I pull the letter out from the already open envelope.

Dearest Violet.

I hope this letter is in your hands rather than your uncles but I really don't know, however, your lack of response to my 138 other letters says that you will not be getting this letter either. Nevertheless, Fred and I have decided to come and pick you up for a little adventure on the 3rd of August. We will come by and pick you up that night. If you're reading this then pack your school things too, I don't want to make you go back to your Aunt and Uncles house after. If Mister Malfoy is reading this... then hello there! We are going to be taking your niece on an adventure and there's not much you can do to stop it. I guess that's all. See you soon Violet.

With love, George Weasley.

It takes me a while to make out his handwriting, but the letter makes me laugh. I can tell that Fred helped him write it. The letter is dated for a week ago, meaning my aunt and uncle have known about this for a while now. Regardless I pull my Hogwarts trunk out from my closet and begin to pack everything I need for school. I have Dobby run to the broom shed outside so he can grab the new broom, (the Nimbus two-thousand and one to be exact) that Uncle Lucius bought me. He refuses to accept that I don't want to play quidditch, claiming that I'm just wasting my talent. I haven't received my Hogwarts letter yet so I don't know exactly what I need from Diagon alley but it will come soon enough.

Draco comes bursting through my door as soon as my trunk is closed. "You're leaving me?" He says rather quietly.

I stand up from my position on the floor and go over to hug him. "Only for a while, then I'll be in the Slytherin common room with you all year!"

Draco steps back, refusing my hug. "You're putting the Weasleys before me. You're really leaving your family for a bunch of blood traitors!" He says aggressively.

"Draco no that's not what's happening. You, my family, will always be my number one priority. I just want to see my friends during the summer! You've seen Vincent and Gregory, why can't I see George and Fred?"

"That's different!" Draco shouts angrily.

I can feel heat rise to my cheeks, anger raging inside me. "Oh really? How is it different? Hmm? Give me one reason that it is different that's not about them being blood traitors!" I shout back.

I can hear Uncle Lucius shout "Quiet down!" from the living room on the bottom floor.

Draco pauses. "It just is! When I see Crabbe and Goyle I come back! You're leaving!"

I scoff. "I'll be gone for a month! Then you and I will be back together at Hogwarts! Draco, I love you but there are times where I need to be away from you and you from me. We aren't going to live together forever!"

"You don't love me," Draco says quietly. He turns and runs out of my room.

"Draco!" I rush after him but I hear his door slam shut and the lock bolt shut.

"What's all that racket!" Uncle Lucius yells from downstairs.

I go back into my room, Dobby our house-elf is already there, his arms covered in bandages. "Dobby, if you're injured don't worry I can take my trunk downstairs myself."

Wrong thing to say. Dobby wails, yelling about my kindness and how he doesn't deserve it. This doesn't help with uncle's mood. After Dobby's little meltdown he snaps his fingers making my trunk levitate, then he hobbles down the stairs, my trunk following close behind him.

"Leaving without a goodbye?" Uncle Lucius says. He comes into the front foyer from the 'fancy living room' as Draco called it when he was younger.

I step back from the front door and rush over to him, throwing my arms around his waist. "Thank you, uncle Lucius," I mumble into his clothes.

He pries me off of him, Uncle never smiles so I am not too surprised that his face shows no emotion. "If I hear one single mention of you or the Weasleys at the ministry in the next month, I am pulling you out of Hogwarts and your aunt will teach you from home. Is that understood?"

"Yessir," I say letting go of him. I walk back towards the front door. Dobby is holding it open for me. Dobby and I walk all the way to the very edge of the property and puts my trunk down.

"Hogwarts is very dangerous master. Indeed it is." Dobby mutters.

"What do you mean Dobby? Hogwarts is the safest place in the world."

Dobby wrings his hands, his eyes dart from side to side, I can feel a Dobby meltdown coming on. "It's alright Dobby you don't have to tell me anything. You can go back home now." Dobby looks at me with sadness in his eyes and then scampers away back to the manor.

Almost as soon as the door closes behind Dobby a loud mechanical roar comes from above me. A muggle car comes soaring into view, with none other than three redhead boys sitting in the front seats. It weaves through the air and lands on the ground a little ways away, then rolls up beside me.

George rolls down the window and pops his head out. "All right there Violet."

Fred shoves Ron out of the car and he comes over and takes my trunk from me. I open the back door and climb in. "I'm alright. How's about yourselves." I say, a huge smile plastered on my face. I kiss Fred on the cheek and then George. Ron comes back around from the behind the car and climbs over Georges lap and sits in between the two boys.

"Hiya Violet," Ron says shyly. I lean my head forward and place a kiss on his cheek too.

"So where we off to next?" I say leaning back into the seat. 

Fred steps on the gas, presses the invisibility button and turns the car around. "Gonna go save Harry Potter from the muggles of course!"


	17. Part 2, Chapter 2

Fred says it'll be about an hour before we get to Harry's place. George clambers over Ron and climbs into the back to sit with me.

"So you got my letter?" He says once he's finally sitting comfortably.

I lean into him and he puts his arms around me, Fred gags from the driver's seat. "I almost didn't get it if I'm being honest." I go into explaining my summer so far and what Uncle Lucius was doing with all the letters George was sending me. Then I explained how aunt Narcissa gave me the letter very last minute and the threat Uncle Lucius said to me before they arrived.

"Its so strange hearing you talk about Draco being caring," Ron says once I finish.

"He's just a normal kid you know ickle Ronnie kins," I say joking with him. "He's just been raised a certain way."

Ron turns around in his seat to look at me, "Okay but you aren't like him and you were raised by the same people."

"He just doesn't know that its okay to have opinions that aren't the same as your parents yet. He'll learn eventually. I'm sure of it." By the look on Ron's face I'd say he doesn't believe me for a second.

I think I fell asleep because not too long after Fred is shouting "All these bloody muggle houses look the same! Which number is his!?" I open my eyes and look out the window. Sure enough, we are over top like 30 identical houses.

"Dunno, three I think," Ron says, his head sticking out the window.

George sits up and slaps his younger brother on the back of the head. "You think! Fookin hell Ronald what kind of rescue mission is this if you can't even remember where he lives!"

Fred lowers the car towards the house with the number three on the front. He moves the car towards the back and we all look out the window. All we see is an old woman sitting on her bed watching a moving pictures box as her husband sleeps beside her.

"Good job there Ronald! She looks just like Harry Potter!" Fred says sarcastically. I look through the windshield and notice that the next house has a big cage on one of the back windows.

"What about that one?" I point my arm through the car into the front so Fred can see what I'm pointing at.

"I honestly hope not," George says to himself. Fred drives the car slowly over to the caged window. Sure enough, Harry's snowy owl Hedwig is sitting in the window. Fred turns the car around so Ron's window was closest to Harry's window. Fred then turns off the cars invisibility thing and we watch in silence as Harry comes over to the window.

"All right Harry?" Ron says very casually.

Harry rubs the sleep from his eyes. "Ron? How- what- I- are you in a car!?" Harry whispers.

"What's been going on? I've asked you to stay like a million times and then dad said you got a warning from the ministry for using magic in front of muggles." Ron says to Harry through the bars.

"Underage magic in front of muggles! Well done Harry!" Fred says merrily, causing George and I to chuckle in the back.

"It wasn't even me- how do you even know that."

Its Georges turn to pop his head out of his window. "Dad works in the ministry."

Ron ignores George and goes back to talking to Harry. "You know we aren't supposed to use magic outside of school!"

Harry laughs, "Bit rich coming from you." He gestures his hand towards the floating car.

"This doesn't count. We're only borrowing this, its dads, he enchanted it. But doing magic in front of those muggles you live with..."

I told you, I didn't. But it'll take too long for me to explain now. Look can you explain to them at Hogwarts that the Dursleys have locked me up and won't let me come back, and obviously I can't magic myself out because the ministry'll think that's the second spell I've used in three days..."

"Stop gibbering. We've come to take you home with us. Look we've already saved Violet from the Malfoy Manor."

I crawl over Georges lap and stick my head out of the window, "Hiya Harry!" I say really cheerfully.

Harry waves slowly at me and I crawl back to my side of the car. "You lot can't magic me out of here either," Harry says very confused and still half asleep.

"We don't need to. You forget who I've brought with me." Ron says clapping Fred on the shoulder.

George passes Fred a bunch of rope from the back seat. Fred tosses one side of the rope through the bars and to Harry. "Tie this around the bars tightly."

Harry catches the rope and looks back at Fred. "If the Dursleys hear me they'll kill me dead."

Fred clicks his tongue and shakes his head. "Never mind that. And stand back a ways." Harry ties the rope around the bars tightly and scrambles away from the window. Fred revved the car engine and steers the car upwards, higher, higher, until finally, the bars break off the window with a loud crunching noise. Ron grabs the rope hanging out of his window and quickly pulls the bars into the car and passes them back to me.

Fred drives the car as close to Harry's window as possible. "What are you doing just standing there, get in!" He hisses.

Harry pauses. "All my Hogwarts stuff. My broom, wand, books..."

"Where is it?" Fred says.

"They've locked it in the cupboard under the stairs, but they've locked this door to I can't get out to get it."

George climbs into the front seat with his brothers. "Not a problem. Out of the way Harry. Violet, you keep the car steady." He says to me. Then Fred and George climb out of the car and into Harry's window. I quickly move from the back seat into the driver's seat and put my hands on the wheel. Ron dives into the back seat and out of the way.

George goes over to the door handle and pulls out a hairpin and shoves it in the lock, a few seconds later the door springs open. "We'll go get your trunk and things, you take everything from your room and pass it out to Ron. Violet move the car up a bit so its easier for the boys."

I do as George asks and move the car forward a bit so Ron's door is aligned with Harrys. The process takes longer than expected. But soon George and Fred are back with Harry's trunk and other things. Fred climbs back into the car and he and I switch positions. Fred keeps the car steady as I climb into the back seat and help Ron pull Harry's trunk into the back seat. Finally, the trunk slides in. I climb back into the middle seat in the front and George comes back into the car, closing the passenger door behind him.

"Blood brilliant work," I whisper to George and quickly peck him on the cheek. Harry steps onto the windowsill, ready come crawling into the car when his Hedwig screams.

"THAT RUDDY OWL!" A man's voice roars from a different room. Harry jumps back into his room, grabs Hedwig's cage and tosses it to Ron in the back seat.

The door crashes open behind Harry and a very large man is standing in the doorway. Silence. Then Suddenly the man roars, "PETUNIA! PETUNIA! HE'S GETTING AWAY!" The man runs forward and grabs Harry's leg just as Harry leaps for the car. Ron and George grab Harry and pull hard, his leg coming lose from his uncle's grip.

Harry slams the door behind him. "FRED GO!" We all yell at the same time. Fred steps on the gas hard and the car goes soaring into the night sky.

"See you next summer!" Harry calls out from the window causing us all to laugh very hard. Fred hits the invisibility button as he flies off towards the Weasleys home.

"Let Hedwig out, she can fly behind us. They wouldn't let her out of her cage for ages." Ron opens the back window and Harry opens Hedwig's cage. The owl soars out of the car and flies beside us.

Harry then goes into telling us his story. How a house-elf, my house elf went to his house, preformed magic and tried to stop him from going back to Hogwarts.

After the story finishes everyone goes silent. "Dobby works for my family," I say at last. I feel everyone's eyes on me.

"That's very fishy," Fred says.

George squeezes my hand. "Definitely dodgy." Pause. "He wouldn't tell you who's planning all this?"

The car goes silent. "It has to be my uncle. Dobby works for us. Who else is he supposed to learn information like that from? And it's no secret that my whole family are massive supporters of the Dark Lord."

Fred and George exchange a look. "Not necessarily. Most house-elves can't use powerful magic when they aren't given direct orders from their master right?" Fred says. I nod my head slowly in agreement. "Dobby was probably sent by someone, by a Malfoy, to stop you from going back to Hogwarts."

The car goes quiet again. Truth be told I had no idea Dobby ever left the house recently. Uncle Lucius and Aunt Narcissa wouldn't ever risk letting Dobby off the property so that only leaves one other person...

"It has to be Draco then," Ron says finally. "Because Violet didn't do it. Did you?"

George whips his head around to look at his little brother. "Course she didn't! Why even say something like that!?" The car goes quiet. Harry and Ron start talking about something else.

When they bring up Percy, George gains interest in their conversation. "Percy has been acting strange all summer. And he has been sending a lot of letters and spending loads of time in his room. You can only polish a prefect badge so many times."

"To be fair, you've been sending quite a few letters too there Georgie boy," Fred says.

George flushes red and I put my hand on his leg. "Maybe instead of noticing what I'm doing, you pay attention to your driving. You're going too far west." George responds pointing at the compass embedded in the dashboard.

Fred mumbles something rude under his breath and fiddles with the steering wheel. Ron and Harry start their own little conversation again. "So. I figure Harry's going to be staying in Ron's room. But I will not be sharing a room with you two all close together." Fred says to George and me.

"Like mum will ever let that happen anyway. Violet will probably be staying in Ginny's room."

I've never met Ginny but I've heard loads of stories about her. "that sounds like fun!"

George looks out his window. "That's the main road there, it'll be like ten more minutes. Just as well. Its getting light out."

Not too long after we touch down in front of a very tall and very lopsided house. We all clamber out of the car and George helps me pull my trunk and broom out from the trunk. "I know it's a lot smaller than what you're used to. And definitely not as grand as the manor." George says sheepishly looking up at his house.

"You've got to be kidding right? I absolutely love it!"


	18. Part 2, Chapter 3

"Now we'll all go upstairs very quietly, and when mum calls us for breakfast George will come downstairs with Violet and it will be cute and wholesome. Then Ron will come down with Harry and no one will have to know anything." Fred says. We all turn around to face the house. Ron goes a green colour.

A short, plump, kind-faced woman with fiery red hair is standing in front of the house. Hands-on her hips.

"Ah." Fred sighs.

"Oh dear," George says casually.

The woman, Mrs Weasley comes marching across the front lawn and stops right in front of the five of us. She is wearing a rather pretty floral apron with her wand sticking out of her pocket.

"Morning Mum. Lovely weather today isn't it?" George says cheerily. Fred laughs quietly and shakes his head a bit.

Mrs Weasley is not amused. "Do you know how worried I've been." She whispers, glaring at each of her boys in turn. Ron, George, and Fred are all significantly taller than their mother but they still flinch slightly at her anger.

"Sorry, Mum but see we had to..." Fred starts.

That is not the thing Mrs Weasley wanted to hear. "Beds empty! No note!... car gone!... Could have crashed... out of my MIND with worry... did you care?... never, as long as I've lived... you just WAIT till your father gets home, we never had trouble like this from Bill or Charlie or Percy..."

"Perfect Percy." Fred grumbles.

Again. Not the thing Mrs Weasley wanted to hear. "YOU COULD DO WITH TAKING A LEAF OUT OF PERCY'S BOOK!" She shouts, jamming her index finger into Fred's chest. "You could have died you could have been seen! You could have lost your father his job!" Mrs Weasley doesn't stop there. She shouts at her boys till her voice goes hoarse. Then she turns to Harry. "Oh, Harry dear I'm happy to see you again. Run along inside and grab some breakfast." She says very softly and motherly like. Then she turns to me, "You must be Violet. The boys have told me much about you. Please hop on in and grab some food. These three will follow shortly." I grab the handle of my trunk ready to heave it inside. "Oh no, darling. Fred and George can handle the trunks. Can't you boys." She says the last part very aggressively like if they were to say no she would run them over with the car.

"Course we can Mum."

Inside the house, Harry and I awkwardly look at each other. We haven't really had a one on one conversation ever. What were we supposed to say to each other 'oi mate I'm sorry my little cousins sent our house elf after you which ended up with you getting a letter from the ministry and being locked in your bedroom.' Thankfully Mrs Weasley came into the kitchen.

"Harry, Violet dears please sit down, make yourself comfortable." She gestures to the table in the middle of the kitchen. Well, more like three tables lined up so the whole Weasley clan could fit comfortably. Mrs Weasley goes about making breakfast very messily. "Violet darling. Fred and George have told me so much about you. Well more George than Fred but anyways. Your mother and father are locked up in Azkaban right dear." Harry, who didn't know that information glances at me. "What a stupid question. I'm dreadfully sorry please don't answer, you don't have to."

"Oh, it's okay Mrs Weasley. I was only two when it happened. My aunt and uncle raised me along with their son."

Mrs Weasley turns away from the stovetop and looks at me carefully. "I am so sorry, that must have been dreadful. Never mind all that though. You're here now, stay as long as you like. I know that George is quite glad that you're here. Honestly so am I. Now someone other than George can use the owl to send post. Couse, it's not your fault that George fancies you so much. I think it's quite adorable really." The three boys come down the stairs after bringing mine and Harry's things into the proper rooms. George stands behind me and kisses the top of my head before he sits down beside me.

With a flick of her wrist, Mrs Weasley sends plates and cups to each of the placemats on the table, she glares at the boys once in a while, shovelling food onto all of the plates.

"Arthur and I were going to come to get you ourselves you know Harry. If you didn't respond to Ron by Friday. Violet we knew was being taken care of so we weren't worried as much. But you darling. Living with those muggles. Ron told us horror stories." She puts three eggs onto the plat in front of Harry and does the same to me. "But honestly, flying an illegal car halfway across the country (she adds sausages to all of our plates) anyone could have seen you"

Fred takes a bite of his sausage. "It was cloudy Mum!" He says, spitting everywhere.

"You keep your mouth shut when you're eating!" Mrs Weasley says hitting Fred in the back of the head with her wand.

"They were starving him, mum! Had bars on his windows! And Violet didn't answer any of my owls!" George tries to explain.

"And you! Stealing your girlfriend out of her house in the middle of the night! I mean seriously!" Mrs Weasley starts to butter Harry's toast for him.

George looks at me and winks, "Worth it though." He whispers making butterflies grow in my stomach. Not too long after Percy comes staggering down the stairs and plops in a chair on the other side of the table. Mrs Weasley busies herself with putting food on his plate

"Finally out of your room there Percy-poo?" Fred jokes. Percy just yawns and starts to eat his breakfast silently.

Out of the corner of my eye I see another figure coming down the stairs, looking over I see a little girl standing at the entrance to the kitchen in a long nightdress. She looks around the room, see's Harry, squeals and runs back upstairs.

"Ginny," Ron mumbled. "She's been talking about you all summer." He says to Harry.

"Yeah." Fred chimes in "She's going to want your autograph." Fred smiles but when he sees the look on his mothers face he turns his attention back to his breakfast.

Once all of our plates are clear, Percy goes back upstairs, we can all hear his door slam behind him.

Fred yawns loudly and stretches "Blimey, I'm tired. I think I'll go to bed and..."

Mrs Weasley turns around sharply. "You will not! It's your own fault that you've been up all night. You're going to de-gnome the garden for me, they're getting completely out of hand again."

Fred groans, "Oh mum..."

Molly turns her attention to George and Ron. "And you two." She softens and looks at Harry and I. "You dears can go upstairs and to bed. Neither of you asked to be rescued." She says sweetly.

Harry offers to help de-gnoming the garden but Mrs Weasley goes on about how he needs his rest. Then she pulls out a rather large book written by Gilderoy Lockhart. "Oh isn't he marvellous... he knows his household pests alright. It's a wonderful book."

"My aunt has all of his books. She loves them." I say, Mrs Weasley smiles.

"But does your aunt fancy him? Because mum does." Fred says.

Mrs Weasley scoffs. "Don't be ridiculous Fred." Her cheeks turn pink. "If you lot think that you know better than Lockhart you can go and get on with it then. Woe betide you if there's a single gnome in that garden when I come out to inspect it."

Fred, Ron, and Harry all get out of their seats and slowly make their way outside. George pecks my cheek and ruffles my hair before he gets up and follows them.

I stand from my chair and pick up all the dirty plates and things from the table and bring them over to Mrs Weasley.

"Oh thank you dear but you really don't have to do any of that. I had the boys put your things in Ginny's room and they set up an extra bed so if you want you can just hop right up there and take a nap." Mrs Weasley says.

"If it's alright with you Mrs Weasley, I'd much rather get to know you. But if you have things to do I'll leave you alone." Mrs Weasley turns to face me, her eyes happy. She flicks her wand and the dishes start to wash themselves.

She leads me into the living room and we start talking, getting to know each other. I tell her the story of my mother and father in more detail as before. She listens to every word, on occasion she squeezes my hands or wipes a stray tear from her eye. "I could never even imagine!" is one of the main phrases she says the entire time.

Then it's her turn. She explains how she met her husband Arthur, they fell in love, had all these children and are doing their best to raise them right. "Fred and George are the most work you see. As young children they absolutely hated each other, having to share a room and all." She gets up, goes over to the bookshelf and pulls out a picture book titled 'F&G' she comes back to the couch and puts the book in my lap.

"George was very quiet as a boy, very polite. But he was very talented with magic. Even as a little one he was mastering simple spells. Fred, on the other hand, was loud, reckless and kind of rude if you ask me. Both of them were funny in their own way though. Fred was harsher with his jokes, and they tended to be very obvious jokes, but whenever George cracked a joke, you had to think for a moment till you got it."

I open the book to the first page, there's a picture of two very red and wrinkly babies moving about in a shared cot. "We had to find a way to tell them apart so I started knitting them sweaters with their initials on it. Then I started to make sweaters for all my children."

I smile at the memory of last years Christmas. "I've been meaning to thank you for my sweater last year. No one has ever made me clothes before. I was going to send a letter but Christmas was so eventful."

Mrs Weasley looks like she might cry. "Oh never mind that. I'm just happy you liked it!" She flips the page in the book, this one is plastered with pictures of the twins running around the house in their matching sweaters.

"They were about four when they started to get along with each other. I remember vividly. I was watching Fred trying to get the cookie pot off from a high shelf and he couldn't do it without bringing a chair over and making a loud noise. I was about to go and scold him when George popped his little head around the corner. Without saying anything he rushed over beside his brother. Closed his eyes very tightly and I watched as the cookie pot levitated up off the shelf and came down into his hands. I was just so happy they did something together that I didn't even bother scolding them. Which in hindsight I probably should have because look at them now." Mrs Weasley shakes her head and smiles at the bool

I flip through a few more pages, Mrs Weasley telling me the story attached to each one. "I wish I had a book like this, to remember all the things I did when I was little," I say fondly.

"Your aunt and uncle never kept photos of you?" Mrs Weasley says looking away from the book and up to my face.

I shake my head and flip to the next page. "No never, Draco and I had a portrait painted together every year with our names at the bottom but that's about it. And well we do have the family tree. It's a huge tapestry in one of the rooms. Every one of the Black family houses have one is what I was told. Whenever a new family member is born, the tapestry adds them to the tree, connected to their parents, who are connected to their parents so on and so forth. If you do something that the family doesn't approve of, well its mostly muggle-born related things, then you get burned out of the tree and your children aren't documented any longer. It's what happened to my aunt Andromeda when she married a man who was muggle-born."

I look from the book and watch as Mrs Weasleys face contorts from, anger, sadness, disgust, and finally sympathy. "I'm so happy that the twins found you, you know that? If you ever, and I mean ever, need a place to stay in the future, you will always be welcome here. No matter what happens with you and George. And please. Call me Molly."


	19. Part 2, Chapter 4

The door in the kitchen creaks open and slams shut, Followed by a groan, a chair squeaking, and the door being thrown open again.

"Arthur must be home," Molly says. She takes the book away and puts it back on the shelf. She nods towards the kitchen and I head out of the living room and back into the kitchen.

"Find anything interesting dad?" Fred asks Mr Weasley. Fred is sitting rather close to his father, he looks like a little kid on Christmas. I join the table and sit in the empty chair beside George.

"All I got were a few shrinking door keys and a biting kettle." Mr Weasley yawned loudly, just like Fred and George do. "There was some pretty nasty stuff that wasn't in my department though. Mortlake was taken away for questioning about some extremely odd ferrets but that's the committee on experimental charms thank goodness."

"Why would anyone bother making door keys shrink?" George asks his father.

"Sounds like something you and Fred would conjure up if I'm being honest with you," I say back. Fred and George look at each other, clearly making a mental note.

"Just muggle baiting." Mr Weasley responds. Then he stops. Looks up. Tilts his head, "Sorry, who are you?" He asks looking at me.

"Oh um, Violet LeStrange?" I say awkwardly.

Mr Weasley looks at me harder than looks at George's hand intertwined with mine on the table. "Ah right then. Anyways. It's very hard to convict anyone when it comes to shrinking keys. No muggle would admit that their key keeps shrinking, they'll just say they lost it. Bless them, they'll go to any lengths to ignore magic, even if it's staring them in the face... but the things our lot have taken to enchanting, you wouldn't believe."

"LIKE CARS PERHAPS!" Molly shouts from behind Mr Weasley.

Mr Weasley looks at us all and gulps before he turns around to face his angry wife. "C-cars Molly dear?"

Molly storms fully into the room, her eyes darting from her husband to her children. "Yes Arthur cars. Imagine a wizard buying a rusty old car and telling his wife that all he wanted to do with it was take it apart to see how it works, while REALLY he was enchanting it to make it fly!" Molly says, her hands on her hips, her eyebrow twitching.

Mr Weasley blinks, the rest of us get quite uncomfortable. "Well dear, I think you'll find that he would be quite within the law to do that even if, er, he maybe would have done better to um, tell his wife the truth..." He looks at us as if expecting one of us to help him out of the argument. We all duck our heads and look away. "There's a loophole in the law, you'll find... as long as he wasn't intending to fly the car, the fact that the car could fly wouldn't..."

"Arthur Weasley you made sure there was a loophole in the law when you wrote the bloody thing!" Molly roars "Just so you could carry on tinkering with all that Muggle rubbish in your shed! And for your information, Violet and Harry arrived this morning in the car you weren't intending to fly!"

Mr Weasley looks around the room quickly. "Harry? Harry who?" He takes a closer look around the room, nodding at each of us. George, me, Fred, Ron, and, "Good Lord is it Harry Potter? Very pleased to meet you. Rons told us so much about you, and Violet of course." He nods at me again.

"Your sons flew that car of yours all over the country and back last night!" Molly shouts at her husband.

Mr Weasley takes a second to process what Molly was screaming at him, and then, "Did you really!" His eyes light up in the same way Georges do when he gets excited. "Did it go alright?" He catches a glimpse of Mollys very mad face. "I mean, that was very wrong boys. Very wrong indeed. I umh..."

Molly looks like she's about to burst with anger. "Let's head outside, let these two deal with their... issues." George whispers into my ear. George and I stand up and quickly rush out the side door.

"Your mums a sweetheart," I say once we are decently far away from the house. "She was showing me all of your childhood photos..."

George groans, "Did she really? God, I hate that woman sometimes." George sits down beside the river and pulls me down to sit beside him. "Did she tell you that she doesn't know which one of us is which?"

"Oh, Georgie don't act like that. She knows who you are. She told me all about how shy and sweet, and caring, and compassionate..." I squeeze his cheek and he goes bright red.

"That was when we were little. If neither of us were talking she couldn't tell which one of us was which. When we were about six, we swapped wardrobes to see if anyone noticed. They called me Fred for eight months! Then Fred and I got bored and switched back. No one except Lee, and well now you, know that even happened."

"To be fair, it is nerve-wracking every time I want a hug from you. Will I be hugging George or will I be hugging Fred? Or imagine if I accidentally kiss Fred instead of you!" I lace my words with as much sarcasm as I can muster but it either doesn't work or George just isn't in the mood for jokes because he is face droops and his shoulders slump. "Hey, I'm only messing with you. You know that right?"

George shrugs his shoulders, "Can't say that I haven't thought of it happening before though." He grumbles.

"Well. You pronounce your 'T's differently than Fred. You also have a slightly different bump in your nose than he does. You're a little shorter than him though you won't admit that. And if you look super-duper close, you're eyes are a slightly darker shade of brown than his." I take his hand in mine and he looks up at me. "And the biggest difference of all? I fancy George Weasley. Not Fred Weasley." Pause. "Even if Fred is the more attractive one." George laughs, then in one quick motion, pushes me off the bank we are sitting on and tosses me into the water below.

"George Weasley you absolute pain in my arse!" I scream from the water below. George just laughs and laughs. I reach up and grab ahold of his ankle and pull him into the water with me.

"I can't swim!" George calls, his head bobbing in and out of the water.

I splash water at him. "You absolute moron! I've seen you swim!"

George, still keeping up the act shouts, "That wasn't met! That was Fred!"

Splashing him again and saying some very choice words, George stops flailing around in the water and laughs., "You know my mums going to kill us if we walk into the house looking like this."

"OI!" We both stop talking and look around. Finally, we look up and see Fred sticking his head out of one of the windows. "Having a beach day without us I see!"

Higher up, Ron opens his window and shoves his head out of it, Harry sticks his head out of a different window on the same wall. "A beach day!?" He shouts.

Then it is Percy's turn. He throws up his window very unimpressed with us all. "WILL YOU KEEP IT DOWN I AM TRYING TO STUDY!"

Fred turns his head so he is looking up at his brother Percy. "Study what? How to actually enjoy your summer holiday? Better open the page to beach days because I'm coming up there and dragging you outside!" In unison, all four windows slam shut and in a matter of minutes, the four boys come running outside and jump in the river.

Well no, Percy moans and groans the whole time and only ever sits on the edge, his toes barely touching the water. Until of course George and Fred swim over and pull him in, causing Percy to swear so much a sailor would blush.

We spend the better part of the day all together hanging out in and by the river. Ginny even comes out to join us. Only every time Harry tries to say something to her, her eyes go wide and she dunks her head under the waves.

When Molly calls us in for tea, we all have blue lips and pruney fingers.

"Good Lord. Look at the state of you all." Molly clicks her tongue and with a swish of her wand, we are all completely dry. We all file into the house and sit at the dining table. Molly pours seven cups of tea and magics them to the table for us, along with a load of cookies and little sandwiches. The rest of the day is spent lazing around. Percy flees back into his room and locks himself away. George, Fred, and I sit in the living room talking about what we want to do this year. Which then leads the boys to talk about quidditch for hours.

After dinner, we were all extremely tired and we all made our way to our respective beds. "I'll see you, tomorrow love," George whispers to me on the first stair landing. He quickly pecks my lips and rushes off up the stairs into his room. I spin around and walk through the crooked hallway into Ginny's room.

It's awkward. I barely know her, and she only knows what George has said. Which apparently isn't much.

"When did you know you fancied my brother?" Ginny says very quietly and very fast.

"Dunno honestly. I always thought he was very cute. But the beginning of third year I started to get butterflies every time I spoke to him. By the first week of school, I actually told him, and turns out he felt the same way." I explain changing into my pyjamas. "Is there someone that you fancy?" I ask casually.

Ginny goes red as the Weasley family tends to do when asked relatively personal questions. "I think. But I don't have anyone to talk to about it. Mum would just cry, and all my brothers would make fun of me."

I prop myself up on my pillow. "Well, I won't cry. And I'm not one of your brothers.

"Well, no but you will go off and tell Fred and George. Then they'll tell Percy and Ron. Then Ron will manage to tell Charlie, who will tell Bill. Bill will tell mum and then she'll start crying." She looks at me, waiting for me to agree with her.

"Just because I'm your brother's girlfriend, doesn't mean I have to tell him everything you know. It's okay if you don't want to say anything. I'm staying till school starts, then we will all be at school and you can talk to me then." I say to her. I roll over and close my eyes. Ginny blows out the candle and I can hear her shift in her bed.

"It's Harry Potter." She whispers after a few minutes.

"He is pretty cute huh," I say back to her. She lights the candle again and I turn around to face her.

"But he's Ron's friend and he's older than me. I'm to shy to say anything to him. I'm not like you."

I sit up fully in bed so I can see her properly. "It took me a long time to tell George I thought he was cute. I barely even knew what that meant when I was in first year. Try getting to know him a little bit every day. Ask him one question, wait for his answer, and then tell him yours. Try it with me."

Ginny looks over at me and stares for a second. Then she says. "What's your favourite colour?"

"Green. What about you?"

She pauses. "Blue."

"What do you want to do when you get older?" I ask her.

She looks at me for a second, thinks, then says, "I want to play quidditch. On the Hollyhead Harpies team."

"That's so cool! I want to work at an ice cream shop." She stares at me, blinks then starts to giggle. We do that for most of the night. Ask each other questions. Laugh, get to know one another. It takes a little while for Ginny to really open up and get comfortable but as soon as she does it interesting to see how much we have in common. A couple of hours later and we are both finally asleep but when we do we both have smiles on our faces.


	20. Part 2, Chapter 5

Its been about a week since Harry and I first arrived at the Burrow. Ginny and I have been spending loads of time together, which makes George very jealous.

"So you're telling me that your uncle just bought you a Nimbus two-thousand and one just because he wants you to play quidditch, a sport you don't even like?" Ginny says to me as we sit out in the grass playing a game of gobstones.

"Yeah, I have it in our room. You can ride it later if you want."

Ginny's mouth falls open. "Really? All I've ever ridden is Ron's old Shooting Star."

"Definitely. We can go somewhere just the two of us so the boys don't push us around."

Almost as soon as that sentence leaves my mouth George comes outside and stands right behind me. "Ginny, can I have my girlfriend back, please? I've seen her less this week than I have all of July."

"Why don't you go back to exploding things with Fred? We are in the middle of a game." Ginny says back very sassy like.

"Just because you don't have any friends for yourself doesn't mean you get to steal my girlfriend from me," George says back in the same sassy tone.

"I have friends!" Ginny shouts. She stands up and whispers "Volatilis Lutum" while looking at her brother. Instantly giant bogey bats fly from Georges's nose. George screams and Ginny and I burst into laughter. Once it finally stops George looks at his sister with bewilderment.

"What the bloody hell was that?" He says both angry and impressed.

Ginny smirks. "None of your business is what it was. Now leave us alone!"

George goes to walk away but I grab his pant leg. "I'll come to your room after this game is done okay?" George smiles and nods, Ginny looks down at the grass disappointed. "Ginny and I will hang out after dinner for a bit, time flies by around then." Ginny looks up at me, fully understanding what I mean and she smiles really wide.

"Alright, but hurry up," George says, he rubs his nose and walks away.

I turn back to Ginny, "Okay seriously what did you just do to him?"

Ginny giggles. "It's called the bat bogey hex. I read about it in one of Charlie's old school books that's in the attic. It comes in handy once in a while. It's the only spell I've been able to master really."

"It's a bloody brilliant spell to master."

It doesn't take long to finish our game, and after we pack up I make my way back into the house and up the crooked stairs. It's not very hard to find the twins room. The door is bright green with big F's and G's covering it. In the middle of the door hangs the sign I gave George for Christmas "Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes'.

Before I can even knock on the door, Fred pulls it open and drags me inside. "God finally you're here," Fred says. He turns to George who's sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room. "Can you focus now that your girlfriend is here you absolute pansy," Fred says, clearly annoyed with his brother's behaviour.

George comes over to me and pecks me lightly on the lips which causes Fred to fake vomit. "Now that she's here shes proving as a bigger distraction." He says softly. His nose brushing mine.

Fred throws his hands in the air. "I can't work like this! Violet, George, I'm giving you five minutes. FIVE MINUTES to yourself. But when I get back George you better be in the right mind." Fred leaves the room slamming the door behind him.

"Who tied his panties in a twist," I say to George, stepping away from him and looking at the mess on the floor.

"We've been working on a few things for our joke shop." George picks up a small black horn-like thing very carefully and holds it out for me to see. "We are trying to perfect these right now. We are going to call them... well, I'm not sure exactly but whatever. They are designed so that if you drop one, it will run far away and create a bunch of loud noise. So if the user is in trouble, with let's say Filch, just drop one of these out of your pocket and get ready to run." He places it back on the ground as gently as possible but as soon as it touches the floor it speeds off under a bed and explodes, shaking the whole house.

"That's genius you know that right?" He grabs my waist and pulls me in close to him. I wrap my arms around his neck.

"Fookin hell you two," Fred says coming back into the room, he throws his hand over his eyes and dramatically looks away from us.

"That was not at all five minutes," George says, letting go of me.

"I got bored. What are you gonna do? Kick me out of my own room?"

I sit on Georges bed and he sits on the floor in front of me. I stay with them till dinner, bouncing ideas off one another to fix and perfect their noise thing. On occasion, George leans back and plants a kiss on my leg to remind himself that I'm there.

Once we all finish dinner, Ginny and I run-up to her room and get ready to fly. I put on the green sweater that Molly made for me and some jeans and grab my broom.

"Wait, they'll see us carrying that downstairs," Ginny says to me. We decide to throw it out the window of her room, given shes only one floor in the air. We very calmly walk past Percy on the stairs and then run out of the kitchen door.

I run to the broom lying in the grass while Ginny goes to the shed to grab one of her brother's brooms. We then go to a padlock not too far from the house so we could fly around without being seen. I toss Ginny my broom and she catches it with one hand. "Go on then. Give it a go." She carefully mounts the brooms and looks at me before she kicks off.

The broom rockets into the sky, Ginny whoops and hollers the entire time. I mount the broom she took from the shed and take off after her. Its quite an adjustment, being so used to riding the newest and best broom money can buy to riding a very old, splintering broom.

We fly till its dark out. Once we are back on the ground Ginny give my broom back to me. "You're a fantastic flyer you know. You making the Hollyhead Harpies might just get me interested in quidditch."

Even in the dark, I can see Ginny's cheeks flush. We walk back to the house and sneak up to Ginny's room. I stash my broom back under the bed.

There is a knock on the door and Ron sticks his head in. "Mum found some old muggle firecrackers in the attic. We are going to go set them off. Want to come?"

We get up and follow Ron and Harry down the stairs. George, Fred, and a very unimpressed Percy are all in the kitchen already. Molly and Mr Weasley are holding two large bags full of the fireworks and blankets. I go over to George and he hugs me tight. I can feel Ginny watching us, so I look back at her and nod towards Harry. Hopefully giving her the push she needs to start up a conversation with him.

Together, we all make our way to the padlock that Ginny and I were just at. Molly and Mr Weasley start setting up the fireworks and the rest of us lay the blankets out far away from them.

"So Harry. What are your favourite kind of fireworks? I like the ones that look like a fountain." I hear Ginny say.

A smile spreads across my face when harry replies. "So how has your week been? We haven't really had much time just the two of us." George asks me.

"It's been absolutely fantastic Georgie. Molly is actually going to teach me how to make banana bread tomorrow." George laughs. He pulls me down to the blanket that he's sitting on and pulls me close to him.

"That's my favourite you know," he says with a big smile on his face.

"Course I know Weasley, why do you think she's teaching me?"


	21. Part 2, Chapter 6

Two weeks have passed since the fireworks. It's been utterly fantastic, spending all this time with the Weasleys. At around 9 in the morning, all of us make our way down to the kitchen for breakfast.

"Here you are, Hogwarts letters," Molly says to us once we are all sitting down. She hands Percy the letters, he finds his in the pile and passes them along to the rest of us. "Dumbledore must know you and Violet are here Harry." She says as Harry takes his letter from Ron.

The room goes silent as we all read over our letters. It's Ginny's first time receiving one and you can tell by the smile on her face that she is beyond excited. George has told me that Ginny has been looking forward to going to Hogwarts for years, so much so that he and Fred sent her a toilet seat from Hogwarts when they blew up a few of them last year.

Fred looks over at Harry's letter once he's finished reading his. "You've been told to get all of Lockhart's books too! The new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher must be a fan-bet it's a witch." He says jokingly. Molly shoots him a look and Fred suddenly becomes very interested in his toast.

"That lot won't come cheap," George says sort of quietly. "Lockhart's books are really expensive."

Molly clicks her tongue, "Well, we'll manage. I bet we can get a lot of Ginnys stuff second hand." I can tell by the look in Molly's eyes that's she's definitely worried about the cost but I don't push her.

We all break off into our own conversations, George, Fred, and I begin discussing what classes we are most excited for. I keep bringing up the fact that we have to focus this year to prepare for our OWLs that are happening next year but the boys just brush me off. They move onto what plans they have for tormenting the school and I zone out.

"Harry! What are those things that muggles have? The ones that go down the stairs? They are made of wire, kind of circular..." Fred says I tune back into the conversation as does Arthur.

"Oh um, slinkys?" Harry says, taking a bite of his toast.

"Yes!" Fred says delightedly. "What do you say, Georgie? Slinkys in the grand staircase?"

Molly rolls her eyes and turns to start cleaning the table. Once we are all finished, Fred, George, Harry, Ron, and I all decide to head to the paddock so we can fly around for a bit and the boys can practice quidditch.

I run up and grab my broom from Ginny's room before following the boys outside. "Wish I knew what Percy was up to. He's not himself, his exam results came yesterday, he got twelve OWLs and he's hardly gloated at all." Fred says as we walk towards the field.

"Twelve? Bloody hell." I say to no one in particular.

By the look on Harry's face, we can all tell he hasn't got a clue what we are talking about. "Ordinary Wizarding Levels, you take them in year five. Bill got twelve too. If we aren't careful we'll have another head boy in the family. I don't think I could stand the shame." George says. Fred and I laugh at his comment but Harry stays confused.

"Dunno how Mum and Dad are going to afford all our school stuff this year," George says to me when we reach the field. "Five sets of Lockhart books! And Ginny needs new robes and a wand and everything."

I prop my broom up on the fence nearby so I can hug George tightly. "They'll sort it out love I know they will." George wraps an arm around my waist and holds me close. "I know what you're thinking, it's not your fault that you need things for school, you're not a burden okay?" George mumbles something along the lines of 'yeah I know' and kisses the top of my head gently.

The rest of the day is full of trading brooms and racing each other. The twins try to get me to promise that I'll join the Slytherin team this year but doesn't work. "I'd much rather watch you two play," I say jokingly.

"And by you two you mean George. I can hear it now! 'Oh, Georgie you're so talented! Hitting that bludger like you do! I don't even care that Gryffindor wins against Slytherin because you look so handsome when you fly like that!" Fred mimics my voice. He tops it all of with a big over the top vomiting sound to make sure we know just how sick it makes him.

"Just wait till someone catches your eye, Freddie. Think of all the lovey-dovey romantic stuff you'll end up doing!" George says to his brother.

Fred shakes his head no quite aggressively. "Absolutely not. Never! There is no girl in the entire world that would make me act like that!" He says defensively.

"Oh?" I say wiggling my eyebrows. "What about Angelina?"

Fred's face instantly turns red. "Angelina who?" He stumbles over his words a bit. "Angelina on the quidditch team Angelina? I don't know what you're talking about Violet, I think you've gone mad." He rubs the back of his neck with his hand and looks down to the grass.

I go over to him and place a kiss on his warm cheek. "Sure you don't Freddie."

The next week Molly wake us all up very early and makes us get ready to go to Diagon Alley. "Best send word to your Aunt and Uncle that we are getting everyone's school supplies today Violet. You can use Percy's owl to send a letter. By the time it gets there we will be shopping and they can come by and see you." She then rushes out of the room to wake up the rest of the house.

After sending off the owl much to Percy's annoyance, I make my way downstairs for breakfast. As soon as my feet hit the ground floor Ginny comes running over asking a million questions about Diagon Alley that her brothers won't answer. Breakfast was rushed, Molly and Arthur want to get to the shops before they got too crowded.

"All right come now, one by one," Molly says ushering us to the fireplace. She picks up a small flower pot that sits on the mantle and looks inside it. "Oh, we are running low Arthur. Remind me to pick some up today." Molly grumbles to herself. "Ah well, Guests first! Here Harry." She reaches the pot out to harry who does nothing but stare at it.

"W-What am I supposed to do?" Harry stumbles over his words.

"He's never travelled by Floo powder before Mum," Ron says in his friend's defence. "Sorry Harry, I forgot."

"Never!?" Mr Weasley says flabbergasted. "But how did you get to Diagon Alley to buy your school things last year?"

"I went on the underground..." Harry says sheepishly.

"Bloody hell here we go." Both Fred and George say with a sigh.

"Really? Were there escapators? How exactly..."

"Not now Arthur!" Molly says cutting off her very eager husband. "Floo powder is a lot quicker but if you've never used it before." She shakes her head and looks at the flower pot in her hands.

"He'll be alright mum," Fred says. "Harry just watch us first." And with that Fred shoves his hand in the pot his mum is holding, steps into the fire pit, throws the dust to his feet and shouts "DIAGON ALLEY". In a flash of yellow and orange flames, Fred disappears.

Harry's jaw falls open. George goes next, once again Harry looks like he's seen a ghost. "It doesn't hurt. Trust me." I say quietly to him before grabbing some powder and following the twins.

"Did you see Harry's face?" Fred laughs once I step out of the fireplace in Diagon Alley.

"Oi, he's never used it before, let alone see someone do it. I reckon its quite scary." George says defending Harry.

Suddenly someone runs into me at full force, throwing their arms around me. I can see a flash of white hair and I know immediately it's my cousin Draco. George and Fred's stature changes, they both stiffen up.

"Draco! How I've missed you!" I say hugging the young boy back.

Draco lets go of me and looks at my face. "Mother and Father are waiting for us. Mothers gonna go get our cauldrons and things, father wants us to come with him." He says eagerly. He then turns around on his heels and dashes back towards Aunt Narcissa and Uncle Lucius.

I turn my attention back to the boys and shrug. "Best be off I guess." I pull Fred into a big hug and peck him on the cheek. Then I grab George and plant a big kiss on his lips. Before either of them can say anything I turn away and rush off to meet my family.

"I've missed you all so much!" I say once I reach the three Malfoys. Aunt Narcissa pulls me into a hug and kisses the top of my head. Even Uncle Lucius smiles at me and pats my shoulder.

"Violet dear give me your letter so I can go and start getting your things. Your uncle is taking you and Draco somewhere first before we get started." Aunt Narcissa says. I reach into my little shoulder bag and pull out my letter and hand it to her. She takes it from my hand and walks away from us, off into whatever store she needs to go to.

Uncle Lucius, without warning, walks away from us and towards the entrance to Knockturn Alley. Draco takes my hand and pulls me in the direction of his father. "Father, What are we doing in Knockturn Alley?" Draco says in his typical nosey manor.

"I have a few things I need to get rid of is all. The blasted ministry is coming around more and more recently." Uncle Lucius mutters.

When Uncle Lucius reaches the door to Borgin and Burkes he yanks it open and ushers us inside. It smells like old books and dust which I'm not a fan of if I'm being honest. Uncle goes over to the front desk while Draco and I walk slowly behind him. "Touch nothing you two." He says to us very sternly.

Draco takes his hand away from the glass eye he was about to pick up. "But I thought you were buying me a present?"

Uncle Lucius rings the bell at the front desk and looks at his son. "I told you I am going to buy you a racing broom. Same one as Violet's"

Draco sighs deeply and walks farther down the aisle of the store. "Well, what's the point in that when I'm not even on the house team? Harry Potter got a nimbus two thousand last year. Special permission from Dumbledore so he could play quidditch. He's not even that good! He's just famous, famous for having that stupid scar on his forehead." Draco turns the corner and he continues, "Everyone thinks he's sooo smart, wonderful Potter, with his stupid scar and his stupid broom..."

Uncle Lucius looks at me and rolls his eyes at his son's remarks, I stifle my laughter. "You have told me this at least a dozen times in the past week Draco." Uncle Lucius points out causing me to giggle a bit. "And I would remind you that it is not- prudent- to appear less than fond of Harry Potter, not when most of our kind regards him as the hero who made the dark lord disappear- Ah! Mister Borgin." Uncle Lucius turns his attention away from his sons moaning and towards the rather old and dusty looking wizard that appears behind the counter.

Draco comes up behind us and stands near the merchandise on display. "There are rumours about a new muggle-protection act." Uncle Lucius says, he places his hand on my shoulder before continuing. "no doubt that flea-bitten, muggle-loving fool Arthur Weasley is behind it." Uncle tightens his grip on my shoulder when he says Mr Weasley's name.

Suddenly, "Can I have that?" Is heard from behind us. I turn to see Draco pointing at a grotesque looking hand on a cushion not that far away. Mister Borgin goes on to explain what it is and what it does and Draco's eyes just get wider with excitement.

"I hope my son will amount to more than a thief or a plunderer Borgin." Uncle Lucius says firmly. The old wizard cowers under Uncle's gaze and he stutters out an apology. "Though if his school marks don't pick up, that maybe all he is fit for. Thankfully my wife and I have Violet, there is hope for our family name yet with a smart young witch living with us." It was the first real compliment Uncle Lucius has given to me since I started talking with the Weasleys, a warm sense of pride fills my chest.

"It's not my fault!" Draco whines, ruining my mood entirely, "The teachers all have favourites, that Hermione Granger..."

"I would have thought you'd be ashamed that a girl of no wizard family beat you in every exam!" Uncle snaps back at Draco, cutting the conversation off entirely. I turn my head a little to look at Draco, he's red in the face and I can tell there are tears forming in his eyes. That's the thing. While Draco and Uncle Lucius appear to be close, Uncle is far too hard on Draco, it affects him more than he lets on. And if Uncle Lucius ever saw Draco show emotion, it would be the end of any relationship between them ever. He's just as strict with me I suppose, just not as aggressive. The perks of being a girl I suppose.

Draco starts to wander again, I know its an attempt to get away from his father so he can calm down. "It's the same all over." Old Mister Borgin says, forcing my attention back to him. "Wizard blood is counting for less everywhere-"

"Not with me. Not with my children." Uncle Lucius says sternly. There's slight joy that builds up inside me, hearing Uncle Lucius say children and not just son. But the statement he said doesn't sit well with me, as everyone knows, the ideas that my family support fall on deaf ears with me.

"Come now you two." Uncle Lucius says once he and Borgin settle on a reasonable price. We follow him out of the store, neither of us say goodbye to Borgin as the door closes behind us. "Go find your mother Draco, get your new robes, tell her I'll meet you all in Flourish and Blotts." We say goodbye to Uncle Lucius and hand in hand Draco and I rush out of Knockturn Alley, passing by the Hogwarts Groundskeeper Hagrid as we leave.

I can see the very large group of red-headed Weasleys looking rather worried running around Diagon Alley, and while Draco is distracted with the broom shop I walk over to the lot.

"Oh, Violet dear! Have you seen Harry anywhere?" Molly says breathlessly when I approach her.

"Oh um no I haven't. Is he lost?"

"He never came through the fireplace, dunno where he ended up," Fred says very nonchalantly.

Apparently Draco noticed that I wasn't beside him because at that moment I could hear his rather high pitched voice shout my name. I sigh deeply and make eye contact with George. "I'll let Harry know you are looking for him if I see him. I'll see you all on the train."

When Draco and I finally arrive at Madam Malkin's robe shop Aunt Narcissa was less than pleased. "Father says he's going to meet us in the book shop," Draco tells his mother as he's being fitted for new robes. "And that I'm getting a new broom!"

"That's lovely dear, did he mention getting a present for Violet as well?" Aunt Narcissa says, glancing up from her copy of the daily prophet to look at me on the other side of the store also getting fitted for new robes.

"No, but that's alright Auntie. I'm sure he's not too pleased with my actions as of late." The witch fitting my robes sticks me with a pin and I flinch. She apologizes profusely but I ignore her.

"Nonsense. We'll get you something special as well Violet dear. What would you like?"

Draco huffs, clearly not feeling as special as he did ten seconds ago. "I have always wanted my own cat. A slick black one with bright eyes." I tell Aunt Narcissa.

"Perfect." She places the money for our robes on the table beside the chair she's sitting in and folds the paper she was reading up and puts it back into her purse. "This is enough for three sets of robes each along with a tip. Would have been more if you didn't manhandle my niece and stick her with a pin." Aunt Narcissa says sharply, staring at the witch helping me out of my new robes. "Meet me outside Magical Menagerie when you're done here."

It doesn't take long to finish with our robes. The whole time the witch who pricked me kept on apologizing. "Really it's okay. I don't mind, mistakes happen." I kept telling her.

Draco got annoyed with that though because he snapped at her, "Mistakes shouldn't happen. No wonder the most you could accomplish with your sad life is working in Diagon Alley." And with that, Draco pulls me out of the store and we walk over to Magical Menagerie together.

It doesn't take long for Aunt Narcissa to come out of the shop with a large cage in her hands. "Here you go, Violet. It's a kitten, black with bright eyes just like you wanted. He doesn't have a name yet so choose one carefully." I take the cage out of her hands and hold it against my chest rather protectively.

We can see Uncle Lucius make his way through the busy street towards us. He doesn't even really acknowledge that Auntie bought me a cat. "It's dreadfully busy in there, Violet stay out here with the bags and things." He says to me looking at the book store. I find a nearby bench and place the cage with my new cat in it beside me. Aunt Narcissa puts all the bags shes holding at my feet and Draco does the same, together the three of them go into the bookstore to get our things.

"There's no way I'm going in there with that many witches running around." I hear a familiar voice say over the noise of the crowd.

"Fine then stay out here." A rather frantic woman's voice says. Looking over I see my rather tall red-headed boyfriend and his family all standing around the bookstore. George looks around and spots me on the bench. He squeezes through the crowd and away from his family and stands in front of me.

"I heard you went into Knockturn Alley?" He says quietly.

I nod and move the cat cage so he can sit down on the bench beside me. "Uncle was selling things to Borgin. Dunno why I tend not to ask too many questions." A lie, but there wasn't a chance I was going to hurt George's feelings by repeating what Uncle Lucius said about his father.

"Harry ended up in one of the firepits in Knockturn alley actually. Quite jealous of you both. Mum would rather drop dead than let any of us down there."

My breath gets stuck in my throat a bit. What if Harry ended up in Borgin and Burkes and told the Weasleys everything we said. I stop myself, if he did end up there, surely George would have told me... but I did just lie to him about knowing why uncle was selling things.

"Oi, vi, are you okay?" George says, placing a gentle hand on my knee, snapping me back into reality.

"Course I am Georgie." I peck his lips quickly, "Just thinking of what to name my new kitten is all."

"Easy! Name it George!"


	22. Part 2, Chapter 7

I went back to my Aunt and Uncles house after Diagon Alley, not like Uncle Lucius would have let me do anything else. He sent Dobby to the Burrow to get my trunk and other belongings so I wouldn't have to go back and get them myself. It's been a week since I left the Weasleys home. George has tried to write to me but Uncle has gone back to his ways and has been burning all the letters he's sent. Something about how I'll see him in a few days so there's no need to talk to him now.

The morning of September first Aunt Narcissa wakes Draco and I up very early so we can gather the rest of our things and make our way to the train station. This is the thing that Uncle Lucius dreads the most because we have to arrive looking like muggles. Thankfully the ministry provides him with a muggle car so we can get there on time but the whole ordeal makes him very mad.

Once Draco and I pack all of our things into our trunks Dobby moves everything downstairs and packs it all into the ministry car. Aunt Narcissa packs some breakfast sandwiches for Draco and I to eat in the car ride to the station and we are off.

"I can't believe that Lockhart is going to be our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher!" Draco says once he finishes his sandwich. "I mean I just can't believe it!"

"Why? Do you fancy him Draco?" I say sarcastically. Uncle Lucius shoots me a look through the mirror and I stop talking immediately.

"Don't joke like that Violet. Of course, Draco doesn't fancy Gilderoy Lockhart." Aunt Narcissa snaps. The rest of the car ride is silent. Not even the radio makes a noise.

When we arrive at the station, I can tell auntie and uncle are still annoyed with my comment because they both get out of the car and slam the doors behind them. Draco doesn't look at me as he climbs out of the car. I sigh and follow them in silence.

Uncle Lucius leaves for a moment and comes back with two carts. He helps Draco and I load our things onto them, aunt Narcissa wraps her arm around uncles and together they walk towards the train platform. Draco and I follow behind. Without looking back or even checking to see if muggles were watching, Uncle Lucius and Aunt Narcissa step into the wall that conceals platform 9 and ¾.

"Draco wait." I put my hand on his cart to stop him from following his parents. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have joked like that."

Draco doesn't look at me when he responds, "it doesn't matter if I fancy him or not, mother and father would kill me if I did." And with that, he pulls the cart away from my reach and ploughs into the wall. I follow close behind but not to close that I'll smash into him when I reach the other side.

Together, the four of us walk towards the back of the train where many of the Slytherins tend to sit all together.

"Violet!" Emma shouts. Her and Walter come rushing over to me and wrap me in a massive bear hug. They help me take my things onto the train and in one swift goodbye to my aunt and uncle I run into the train and sit beside my friends.

"Violet you would have loved Paris! I mean the wizarding community there is absolutely fantastic!" Emma says she goes on to tell us both about her wild summer romance with her French beau and how much she misses him and blah blah blah.

"You're so lucky! I stayed at home all summer working! Like a real summer job! Mum told me that I needed to get some real-world experience whatever that means." Walter says. He doesn't say that it was a muggle job but I know that it was. He spends his holidays with his parents, one of witch is a muggle, he hasn't told anyone but me about it. "What did you do Violet." He turns his attention to me before Emma asks what job he had.

I go into describing my summer, in as much detail as I can muster. The whole time Walter and Emma watch and listen with awe on their faces.

"So your Aunt and Uncle just let you stay a whole month with your boyfriend!? I wish!" Emma says, she sort of throws herself into the back of the booth that we are sitting in.

"I think it was more of 'you don't believe us that they are horrible people so we are going to send you to live with them so you can see for yourself just how bad they are'. But it didn't work like that at all! It was honestly the best summer I've had my entire life." I say with a big smile on my face. The train jerks forward, finally we are on our way to Hogwarts.

I can hear Draco bragging about his trip to Diagon Alley with his friends, very much romanticizing what we did while we were there. Once the train was officially out of the station I nod at my friends and together we stand up and leave the Slytherin car. Before I close the door behind us, I can see Clarissa, my old friend, talking to Miriam and Henrietta. She looks at me for a second, rolls her eyes very dramatically and goes back to her conversation.

Together, Walter, Emma, and I all walk through the train until we reach the compartment that the twins always sit in. I pull open the door rather dramatically but none of the boys seems very interested. "Who died in here?" I say jokingly. I step into the compartment and Emma and Walter follow. I sit beside George and Emma beside me, Walter sits on the opposite side, right up close to Lee.

"Ron didn't get on the train. Neither did Harry." George explains to me.

"What do you mean didn't get on the train?" I turn my entire body to face George so he knows he has my undivided attention.

"Dunno, we all went through the wall, got on the train, last minute as always. But Harry and Ron didn't follow. Course mum and dad didn't notice till the train was pulling away. Fred, Ginny, Percy and I scowered the train but we couldn't find them anywhere."

"It's not a big deal. They're probably still on the platform standing there with their mouth wide open getting an earful from mum."

"I've never heard of someone, especially someone who's been to Hogwarts before, missing the train," Walter says, very much not helping the situation.

George glares at him, a look I haven't seen him give anyone before. "Hey calm down, its probably like what Fred said. Neither of them are very bright." We change the topic, Walter and Lee start going on about some quidditch thing that happened over the summer. Fred, Emma, and I start talking debating impossible scenarios. Like if we could fight off 50 eight-year-old children without wands. George stays silent. He keeps his attention on whatever is out the window.

"George remember that time that we tricked Ronald into doing an unbreakable vow with us?" Fred says to his brother trying to prove to Emma and me that it did in fact happen.

"Hm? Oh yeah, dad wasn't too pleased about that one." He says softly, clearly not really paying attention to what we are talking about.

"That's an understatement. It was only a joke you see, we weren't actually going to do it, not like two snotty-nosed seven years old's could even pull something like that off. I tried to explain it to dad that we weren't actually going to do it but he wasn't having any of it. My left butt cheek has never been the same since." Fred says to us. Emma giggles at that last bit which sort of made Fred's face red. Something that I was not expecting to see.

"Come walk with me Georgie," I say taking George's hand in mine. I stand up and pull him along with me, leaving the four others to do what they want. "Okay seriously, what's on your mind."

George sighs very deeply. "I dunno why your uncle would let you spend the summer with us, given we are just flea-bitten low lives," George says.

Damn Harry and his inability to follow instructions. "Honestly? He let me go because he wanted me to see for myself just how awful you Weasleys are because I don't listen to him." George stops walking and looks at me head-on. "But instead, I found out that my loving and caring boyfriend is from a loving and caring family who just so happen to have a really good banana bread recipe."

"And I know that you don't listen to your uncle and you don't share his views I mean obviously you don't but it still hurts when I hear stuff like that being said about me and my family you know?"

I take both of George's hands in my own. "Course I know. Your family is everything to you and that's one of the things that I lo-" I stop myself immediately as soon as my brain caught up to my mouth. This is not how I'm going to say the love word, even though that's what I think I'm feeling.

George doesn't miss a beat though. "That's what you love about me is it?" He says smirking, everything that my uncle said has clearly left his mind.

"That is not at all what I said. I was going to say..." George cuts me off by kissing me. It's not like the little pecks we've shared in the past. This felt different, it was longer, wetter. When he pulls away from me we are both slightly out of breath.

"So um... feeling better?" I say quietly, George and my noses are still touching. I can feel George's breath on my face.

He laughs airily, "Much better thank you." And with that, he kisses me again.


	23. Part 2, Chapter 8

When we get to Hogwarts we are all absolutely drained, I honestly don't even remember the sorting this year, besides Ginny getting into Gryffindor, which I totally saw happening and now Lee owes me a galleon.

"Do these Weasleys grow on trees? Every year there's a new one!" Clarissa says rather loudly a little further down the table from Walter, Emma, and I.

Emma, who has grown quite close to the twins in the past year or so looked at me with anger in her eyes. I shake my head no, it's the first day back, I really don't want to deal with a fight.

Dumbledore stands up and gives his yearly speech about the rules and things, ending with introducing our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Gilderoy Lockhart.

"Thank you, Dumbledore, and thank you, students! I look forward to meeting each and every one of you! Now, just because I am your teacher now, feel free to send me fan mail! I love all my fans regardless of age!" Lockhart says very boldly.

"Look at Professor Sprout's face, she looks so disgusted!" Walter whispers to us. Sure enough, Professor Sprout looks as if she's going to be sick every time Lockhart opens his mouth to say something.

"It's going to be an interesting year I'll tell you that one for free," I mumble back to him. I look around the room and nearly every girl is staring at Lockhart with love and admiration. Even... "Emma!" I wave my hand in front of her face to get her attention off of our new professor.

"What? Not all of us have a boyfriend to look at?" Emma huffs.

"What about your Frenchie?" Walter says, nudging her with his shoulder.

"He's not here! And thank you very much for reminding me." The rest of the feast was very uneventful. Neither Harry nor Ron showed up throughout the whole time which worried all of us quite a lot. Nevertheless, we all get up and follow the house Prefects to the common room. Once we are in, I go and grab my new kitten from my dorm and bring him out to sit with my friends and me by the fire.

"You got a cat? That's the cutest little thing I've ever seen!" Emma squeals when I sit on the couch beside her. She takes my cat out of my hands and squishes it close to her face.

"Aunt Narcissa got him for me cause Draco got a new broom. His name is Fergus." Fergus' ears twitch when I say his name which only makes Emma hold him closer to her.

"Broom or a cat? I'd rather have a broom." Walter says shrugging his shoulders.

"Are you mad? Look at him!" Emma shoves Fergus into his face.

It doesn't take very long before Draco finds us in the common room. By the look on his face, I figure he's got the latest gossip already. "Violet! Violet! Did you hear?" Draco comes over to us his friends Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise, and Pansy following close behind. "Harry bloody Potter and his pet weasel didn't even get on the train!"

"Oh really?" I say, instantly regretting playing into whatever he's going on about.

"He stole his stupid father's car that apparently FLIES and he and perfect Potter landed right into the whomping Willow!" Draco is nearly bouncing up and down with glee at this point.

"He's bound to be expelled this time!" Pansy shrieks from behind Draco.

I brush her off with my hand and she cowers back. "Are they okay? Wait, how do you even know these things?" I say to Draco.

"Snape caught them trying to sneak into the feast and dragged them to McGonagall's office! Who cares if they're okay or not! They're going to be expelled!" Draco insists. Clearly unhappy with my reaction, he turns around and goes over to a few empty couches nearby, his friends follow him like lost puppies.

"Do you think they will really be expelled, Vi?" Walter says in a hushed tone.

Fergus crawls himself away from Emma and curls up in my lap. "Dunno honestly, not like I can sneak away and ask the boys either, we just got here."

"Poor Fred..." Emma sighs. Both Walter and I snap our heads around to look at her. "I mean, poor Fred and George." She stammers.

"Mmhmm sure, you did. I'd be careful though Em, Fred has a thing for Angelina Johnson."

Emma scrunches up her face like shes disgusted by her name. "Couse he does. It's probably because she plays quidditch. She's not very cute."

Walter and I let Emma go on about her plans to get a boyfriend this year till the candle in front of us nearly burns out. "I'm just saying Violet, George, me, and my future boyfriend could all go on Hogsmeade dates together," Emma says as we pack up our things and head off to bed. "And once Wally finds a girlfriend they can join too!"

"Yeah, not too sure about that last part there Em," Walter says. He turns around and heads into his dorm, Emma and I go to ours.

As soon as we get into the room, Clarissa, Henrietta, and Miriam stop talking and watch us very intently walk to our beds. "How's your family Violet?" Henrietta says.

"Oh, they're great yeah thanks. Draco's super excited to be back at Hogwarts."

"Such a shame that you don't know your real parents Violet. How does it feel being unwanted like that?" Clarissa says, she's trying to put as much bite on each word as she can muster.

"At least my parents are loyal. What did yours do during the war? Run and hide far far away? My mother and father fought for the Dark Lord with their whole soul and then gave me to my aunt and uncle to raise me with as much love as they could muster." I snap back. The room goes still, no one has ever heard me talk about my parents like that, not even me. I straighten out my posture and walk very slowly towards Clarissa. "My mother is the Dark Lord's most powerful and dedicated follower. His right hand. What are your parents hmm?" I lean down so my mouth is right by her ear. "A bunch of worthless fucking cowards." I stand there for a beat, I can feel Clarissa's warm breath on my neck as she tries to think of something to say.

I stand back up, and turn around and walk back towards my bed without looking at anyone. The room is awkwardly silent and I can feel everyone watching me as I change into my pyjamas and crawl under my covers. I feel disgusted with myself. Why? How could I have said those things? I don't support their behaviour. Do you know how much I would pay to change the past and have my parents love each other and raise me themselves? I bury my head deep under the covers. No one says anything for the rest of the night. But the voices in my head don't shut up. Am I proud that my family is full of wonderfully talented and powerful witches and wizards? Course I am! Do I support how my family uses their power? Not in the slightest. But it's not horrible to be strong in the dark arts, is it? As long as you don't use them for bad then they aren't technically bad.

Emma wakes me up the next morning so I must have slept at least a little. "Are you okay after last night Violet?" Emma asks once I'm dressed in my school uniform.

"Yeah kind of. It felt weird, never spoke about my parents like that before." I shrug my shoulders and pick up the books I need for Defense Against the Dark Arts that we have this morning.

"It's not just that, you got really aggressive. Like I fully thought that you were going to hex her into next year with the look in your eyes."

We walk out of the dorm and into the common room, a few people turn around to look at me. "Well clearly Cassandra hasn't stopped running her mouth," I grumble. Emma pulls me out into the hallway before I can say anything to the nosey pricks in the common room.

"I don't think she's ever going to change if I'm being honest." We turn out of the dungeons and start walking towards the staircase.

"Honestly, it's only a matter of time before she tells the whole school some twisted story about how I support my mother's decision to torture the Longbottoms into insanity. Do you know their son is a second-year Gryffindor? Not long till he comes out of hiding and just attacks me."

We start up the stairs passing a few students on the way up. "I dunno about that one Vi. I've heard loads about him, that Neville kid doesn't have the balls to even attempt to face you. Even if he did, you're a powerful witch."

"If he does I really hope he remembers I saved him from getting killed in a fistfight last year." We reach the third floor and walk down the serpentine corridor towards our classroom, we pass a few other fourth years making their way to class too.

"I totally forgot you did that if I'm being honest," Emma says. We meet up with Walter who is already waiting by the class door. "Wally love how are you today?" Emma says, she throws her arm over his shoulder and kisses his cheek.

"Alright. Violet, how was your night?" Walter says half smiling. "I heard things got rather aggressive."

I roll my eyes so far back in my head they might get stuck. "Don't even start with me, Clarence." Before he can respond the class door swings open and Professor Lockhart comes out, in a perfectly pressed, very blue set of robes.

"Good morning children! Please won't you come in!" He says very, very happily. We all fumble our way into the classroom and find a desk. Emma sits beside me, Walter sits behind us with one of his dormmates Lucas.

"Right then, I see you have all bought my books. Wonderful reading material aren't they? We are going to start off with a little pop quiz!" Professor Lockhart says eagerly. He dramatically waves his wand and papers shoot out from his desk and land rather sloppily onto ours.

Just then the classroom door smashes open, the entire class turns around and watches as Fred, George, and Lee all fall into the classroom. Once they straighten themselves out Fred being Fred says, "Sorry we're late sir, truly. We just didn't want to come." The class snickers, George winks at me.

"I hope you feel like coming to detention then... whatever your name is." Lockhart says looking at Fred.

"Oh well, I just don't think that's very fair Professor. See, we just really didn't want to spend time in a class that isn't going to teach us anything." George says digging himself into the same hole as his brother.

"I'll see you two in detention tonight after dinner. Now go find your seats. You almost missed our quiz!" Lockhart puts on his happy voice again. The boys make their way to some empty desks in the back of the class and the quiz begins.

I can't believe what I'm looking at. The questions are utterly ridiculous. What's my favourite colour? What's my mother's name? Which eyebrow is my favourite? I decide to just completely botch the entire quiz, writing a rather rude answer for each question. Not like I have anything better to do tonight, might as well spend it in detention with my two favourite boys (don't tell Walter).

Lockhart only gives us ten minutes to complete the quiz before he whips his wand out again and moves the papers from our desks. We all sit in silence and watch him grade the quizzes with a peacock feather quill.

"Who did this?" Lockhart says holding up a test, "My favourite colour is the colour of my own s- no I'm not even going to read the rest of that answer! Who did this?" Lockhart frowns, staring at the class with a sort of weird intensity like he's trying to still be happy.

I throw my hand up in the air and lean back in my seat. "I did sir. Did I pass?" I put my hand down and cross my arms over my chest. The class laughs, Emma swats my arm but she's laughing as well.

Lockhart scoffs, his face getting red with anger. "You just bought yourself detention to miss..."

"LeStrange. Violet LeStrange." I say to him snarkily. Normally I don't act like this, I never talk back to teachers, not once, and even if I did get in trouble I normally never say my last name with that much power. But I dunno, I kind of like how this feels, the whole class looking at me in both awe and... fear almost. It feels interesting, it feels good.

"Right then." Lockhart straightens his tie, apparently, he's heard my name before. "Detention to you as well miss LeStrange." The next two hours of the class were boring and uneventful. Emma and I played hang-witch on a piece of scrap parchment instead of listening to Lockhart tell us his 'greatest accomplishments in life' or whatever he called his stories.

When the bell rings the entire class tries to run out of the door at the same time, clearly all very annoyed with the time wasted in that class. Once I fight my way out the door I'm grabbed by someone and pulled off into an empty corridor.

"That was hot," George says to me once we are fully alone.

"What was? Me getting detention?" I say back as quietly and as seductively as I can.

"Your confidence. Not being afraid to be who you are and tell everyone just that." George half whispers to me, a smirk forming on his lips. He steps towards me and my back hits the wall behind me.

"Seems like you've mustered up some confidence as well there Weasley." He leans in close to me but I duck and dodge him, turning away and walking out of the corridor. I turn back and look at him, he stands where I left him, in a state of confusion. "Gotta keep you on your toes, can't get too comfortable," I say to him, I turn around and walk away. I can hear him chuckle to himself before he chases after me, his heavy footsteps echo in the now empty hallway.

When he catches up to me he grabs my waist and spins me around causing me to scream pretty loud. He laughs and puts a finger on my lips to hush me. "You're going to get us in trouble." He says catching his breath.

"Oh well," I say into his finger. He pulls his finger away and kisses me before taking my hand in his and walking towards our next class.


	24. Part 2, Chapter 9

A few days have passed since our first class with Lockhart, and in that time I have served two detentions with the twins and have watched my uncle buy Draco's way onto the quidditch team. Draco is a talented flyer I'll give him that but he's the absolute worst at quidditch. Only reason he got in was because Uncle Lucius bought the entire, yes the entire Slytherin team Nimbus two-thousand and ones. The good thing though? Lockhart is apparently terrified of my family so he never writes to them when I get a detention, which only means it's going to be a lot more fun tormenting him in his classes. The twins aren't as lucky though, and Molly is notorious for sending howlers when she gets angry with her boys when they are at Hogwarts.

"VIOLET!" Someone roars my name through the rather empty common room. I take my nose out of the book I'm reading for astronomy class and look up at the door. Marcus Flint is holding onto Draco's arm rather tightly and is dragging him towards me. "Teach your big-mouthed cousin to shut up once in a while, would you? He just got the Slytherin team banned from practising on the field for two whole weeks!" Marcus sort of throws Draco in my direction and storms off into his dorm, hopefully, to change out of those ugly quidditch clothes.

"What the bloody hell did you do this time?" I say to Draco, who is almost cowering in front of me.

"calledhermionegrangeramudbloodinfrontofthegryffindorteamandstartedafight." Draco says very quickly and very quietly.

"You better not have just said what I think you just said Draco." I shut the big, leather-bound book I was reading very loudly.

"In my defence..."

"There is no defence Draco! That word is wrong! Derogatory, absolutely horrible! You want to be taken seriously! You want to get things based on your own merit and not because Uncle Lucius buys peoples acceptance and you STILL pull crap like this!" Draco sits down on the coffee table in front of the couch I'm on and puts his head in his hands. "You're in second year now Draco, its time to grow up and start acting like a functional human being!"

Draco's silent for a long while. Then, "Weasley's wand is broken and he tried to hex me but ended up hexing himself. He's puking slugs."

I bite my top lip hard, trying to suppress my laughter. No matter how mad I am at Draco for saying that word again, I would have loved to see that spell backfire. "Go-" I laugh a bit and stumble over my words. "Go change out of those clothes and enjoy your weekend." Draco looks at me for reassurance, I nod at him and he gets up and goes down the boy's hall and into his dorm.

Now completely put off reading I shove the book into the bag by my feet, sling the bag around my shoulder and head out of the common room searching for George.

It's not hard to find George. I can see him and Fred walking back up to the castle from a window on the second floor. I meet them at the door and prop it open for them. When Fred notices that it's me he sighs. "I love you but I can't stand your cousin." He says walking past me.

George comes through the door and kisses my lips. "What he said." I close the door behind them, George waits for me so we can walk together.

"How's Ron?"

George cracks a small smile. "He and his friends ran off to Hagrid's. If I wasn't so mad at fookin Malfoy I would have laughed."

"I'm sorry about him. I try my hardest to teach him what's right and wrong but he's so obsessed with what his father thinks of him."

George shakes his head, "Don't think like that. You're not his parent, no one blames you for how he acts." I walk with him all the way to the Gryffindor common room. "You coming in?"

"Is that really a good idea at the moment?" I say sheepishly. I would really rather not deal with a bunch of angry Gryffindors right now.

"Guess you're right. Wait here and I'll be back in five minutes. I'm just going to get dressed."

"Get dressed and put on some deodorant right?" I scrunch up my nose for emphasis.

George acts offended. "I don't smell that bad! Here get a better sniff." And with no hesitation, he shoves his sweaty armpit into my face.

I shove him back so hard he loses his balance a little. "You're absolutely disgusting Weasley. Go change and I swear to merlin if you come out here smelly I won't talk to you for a month."

George says some long Latin word and the portrait of the fat lady pops off the wall allowing George to enter. It's definitely not five minutes till George steps out of the common room, thankfully, however, he does smell a lot better than he did.

"Let's go outside and watch the clouds," George says to me as we are walking down the stairs.

"Go watch the clouds? That is very much not the thing I expected you to suggest."

George shrugs his shoulders, "Either that or we can sit at the bottom of the staircase with Fred and track how the stairs move so we can do something later on." George goes to the railing and peers down to the floor, I follow suit and sure enough, Fred is sitting there staring up at us with parchment surrounding him. He waves up at us and we wave at him.

"And what are you two going to do with that information once you have it exactly?" I look at George with a raised eyebrow.

"Tell the whole school so no one is ever late to class again obviously."

I squint at him before starting down the stairs again. "And this has nothing to do with those muggle things you asked Harry about, is it? Slinkys or whatever you called them?"

"Absolutely not I haven't got a clue what you're talking about."

We decide to leave Fred alone and we head outside to find a 'perfect cloud viewing spot' as George put it. Which basically meant finding a spot in the grass that didn't have any people around. We lie down in the grass side by side and look up at the clouds.

"That one looks like a rabbit doesn't it?" George points up at a white blob that looks nothing like a rabbit.

"Are you daft? That's clearly a block of cheese."

George rolls over onto his side so he can look at me. "A block of cheese, are you serious?" I turn so I can see him head-on. "Use your imagination."

"Oi it's pretty imaginative to see a block of cheese in the sky you know."

George laughs and hangs his head, "You're an absolute idiot you know that right." I put my hand on his chin and pull his face up to look at him in the eyes and kiss him on the lips.

We stay outside literally all day, pointing out shapes and arguing about who saw what and what makes more sense. When the dinner bell rings we head back inside and part ways, George meeting up with Fred and Lee and a few other Gryffindors while I head over to Emma and Walter.

"Where have you been?" Emma asks when I'm within talking distance from them.

"Believe it or not I spent the day watching the clouds." I kiss both Emma and Walter on the cheek and link arms with them.

"Why in the world would you spend your entire day doing that?" Walter says, we walk into the great hall and find a spot at the Slytherin table for dinner.

"It was George's idea, either that or help Fred map the staircase." When we sit down the table fills with food and the clanging of cutlery fills the hall.

"Yeah, I saw him doing that... why is he doing that?" Emma passes me the mashed potatoes and I put a spoonful onto my plate.

"dunno, the boys always have something going on," I say. Walter passes me the sausages and I grab one.

I pass the plate to Emma but she scrunches her nose. "I don't eat meat anymore."

Walter drops his fork which clatters onto his plate, "How do you just stop eating meat?"

Emma loads her plate full of corn and beans and things, "Well when I was in France I met some wonderful muggle-borns when my parents weren't looking of course. And they introduced me to a thing called vegetarianism! It was fascinating really."

"I really do think that this is the first time I've seen you even look at a vegetable." I point at Emma's plate with my fork.

"Get used to it because I'm never touching a single piece of meat ever again." Walter snorts, I laugh and Emma throws a string bean at him. "Not like that you pig."


	25. Part 2, Chapter 10

The days leading up to Halloween were awful. The entire school was sick in some way shape or form, the hospital wing was full of poorly students so if you were sick you had to stay in your dorm instead of with Madam Pomfrey.

George has been a lot busier with quidditch recently, his team captain Oliver Wood has been working the team to the bone every spare minute all because of Slytherins new brooms. With George being covered in mud and soaking wet from the constant rain, and me being as sick as a dog, we haven't been seeing each other much.

"I love the rain," I say, my voice stuffy.

Walter chuckles, "Yeah sounds like you love the rain." His voice cracks mid-sentence which makes me laugh, which then makes me cough aggressively. All the boys in our year seem to have hit puberty at the same time. Every other word George says his voice changes like three octaves. But at least they don't have to go to their head of house to ask for pads and things if they didn't pack them. You should have seen Snape's face when Emma had to ask him for a week's worth of pads because her parents didn't think of packing her any.

"You can't tell me that the sound of the rain on the windows when your studying in the library," I say to him.

Walter pulls the door open to our charms class and I step inside. "You act like I've ever been into the library before." We sit down together and I pull out my charms book. "You think we can share the text today? I sort of lost my book."

"Course you fookin did." Walter laughs at me, my voice is so nasally he can't take me seriously.

Fred, Lee, and George come into the classroom, I wave them over and they come sit near us. "Hey, love." George goes for a kiss but I duck out of his way.

"I'm disgusting, you don't want to catch whatever it is that I have." I cough for emphasis. George kisses the top of my head and ruffles my hair.

"So when's the first quidditch game?" Walter says to Lee, ignoring both George and Fred who are actually on the team.

"The weekend after Halloween. Its Gryffindor and Slytherin so I'm guessing you both are going to be there." Lee responds. He sits down beside Walter and Walter goes a pink colour.

"Speaking of Halloween, do you guys want to do something together? It's on Saturday so we have the entire day for ourselves." Fred sits beside Lee and looks down the row at all of us.

"Our thing is going to be ready by then. We could do it that day." George says, we all turn our head to him, who's sitting beside me, on the opposite side of the row as Fred is.

"I mean I guess we could. It's been long enough since we've told the school about the staircase. No one will suspect it." Fred says we all turn our heads back around to Fred who shrugs his shoulders.

"What thing?" I ask, turning my head from Fred to George like I'm watching a very aggressive game of quidditch.

"Well as you all know we figured out the staircase movements and told the whole school about it," Fred says. Flitwick steps up to his pedestal at the front of the class and raises his hand so we all go quiet.

"And we talked to a few muggle-borns in Gryffindor before school started and they all brought a bunch of slinkys. You toss them downstairs and they just go all the way down. It's fascinating really." George whispers.

"Mister Weasley, would you like to teach the class today or shall I?" Professor Flitwick says, staring down George.

"I mean if you insist sir," George stands from his chair and hold his textbook out in front of him very dramatically. "The summoning charm is one of the OLDEST known to the wizarding society!" George reads very dramatically. "Oh wow, this chapter is fascinating professor, truly!"

Flitwick sighs deeply and the class erupts into laughter. George takes this as a sign to keep going. "This charm summons an object TOWARDS the castor! Well isn't that useful! Instead of walking across the room to get a blanket, I can just wave my wand! Tell me Flitwick why haven't you taught this to us sooner?" The thing about Flitwick is that he loves the twins, absolutely adores them. This is the one subject that they strive in, top of the class. So no matter how annoyed he is with them, he will never get them into any real trouble, won't even take house points away.

"Thank you for that introduction Mister Weasley, now please may I have my class back?" Flitwick says a small smile can be seen on his face.

"I mean if you insist sir." George bows and sits back down in his chair, Fred reaches down the line and high fives his brother.

Flitwick taps his wand on his podium and the class focuses back on his small frame. "As Mister Weasley has so helpfully pointed out, the summoning charm is one of the oldest charms known to wizards..." Flitwick drains on about how useful the charm is and what exactly you can and cannot summon. George and I zone out and start to thumb wrestle each other.

"You know he calls me mister Weasley because he can't tell if I'm Fred or George." George writes on a scrap of parchment once he wins the thumb wrestle.

I take his quill and dip it in the inkpot "It makes me think of your father every time someone says."

George looks up from the paper and at my face in almost disgust. He yanks the quill out of my hand and scribbles a response. "I'd rather you not think of my dad at all if I'm being quite honest with you, it's a bit gross." His reply makes me laugh, Walter, shoves his elbow into my ribs to get me to shut up.

"Now before I have you take out your wands I would like you to just repeat after me alright?" Flitwick says looking around the class. "Accio!"

The whole class says it at the same time, "Accio!"

Flitwick claps his hands in glee, "Perfect! I have set up an assortment of buttons in the centre of the room, I want you to summon at least two buttons each by the end of the class. Wave your wand in an arch motion like I've demonstrated and say Accio Button! Watch me." Flitwick demonstrates and sure enough, a button flies from the middle of the room and straight towards Flitwick. He snatches it from the air and holds it out triumphantly. "Now be careful as to not say buttons or else all the buttons in the pile will come flying towards you and that is not something that I want to deal with. Madam Pomfrey has enough sick children in her care, she doesn't need to be fixing broken noses because you summoned to many buttons to your person." When he says that he looks directly at Fred and George, knowing that's exactly what they would do given the chance.

The next two hours are full of dodging buttons and screaming "Accio" the only ones who actually manage to do it properly are George and Fred. When the bell rings Flitwick claps his hands loudly to get everyone to stop packing their things. "For next class! I need everyone to write 12 inches of parchment on this history of the summoning charm as well as the most common uses! Keep practising till then and come see me in my office if you need any extra assistance!"

The class groans about the homework load and finish packing up their things. "Are you coming to flying today, Violet? Madam Hooch was pretty annoyed when you skipped on Monday." Fred asks me as we all walk out of charms.

"God I hate that class." Fred and George laugh, Walter and Lee are walking ahead of us so they can't hear our conversation.

"We only have take it till fifth year Violet, you got this," George says putting his arm around my shoulders.

I moan and groan the entire walk to the field for flying class, Emma meets up with us on our walk. "Did Flitwick say anything about me not being there?" She asks as she tries to tie her big hair into a bun.

"No, George kept him occupied. But we do have twelve inches of parchment due next class on the summoning charm. I'll help you get started if you need me to." The boys throw open the castle doors and Emma and I step through them.

"And that's why you're my best friend."

Flying was long and boring as it always is. We've been taking flying lessons for literally three, now four years at Hogwarts and Emma still can't get her broom off the ground half of the time. And the weather today doesn't help at all, massive drops of rain hitting my face, making my broom handle wet which doesn't help with grip.

About halfway through the class, George lands on the ground beside me. "You look miserable."

I scrape my soaking wet hair off of my face and look at him. "Really? What makes you say that?" I snap at him.

George doesn't seem phased by my outburst, he just laughs and jogs back over to the rest of the class. We are practising formation flying today which is a team effort and we all have to participate but I'm so beyond miserable that if some tells me what I have to do one more time I'll hex this entire class.

By the time class is over I'm so mad my face is hot. We split off into the changerooms and I change out of my gross wet robes and put on some dry ones. "Ready Violet?" Emma and I shove our wet robes into our bags and we pull out our umbrellas ready for the long way back to the castle in time for lunch.

"You have a free period after lunch right? Do you mind helping me start on the parchment that's due Friday?" Emma says once we reach the castle again.

"Yeah course. It shouldn't take us very long."


	26. Part 2, Chapter 11

By the time our potions class is over Friday afternoon, we are already in the Halloween spirit. Fred and George have timed their slinky prank down to the last second and they made us all promise that we will be there to watch it.

"did you hear all the ghosts are having a party tomorrow night?" Walter asks when we go into the dining hall.

"Leave it to you to know about what the ghosts are doing on Halloween night." Emma jokes.

We pass Draco sitting with his friends at the table and I nudge his head forward when I pass him. "Ow Violet!" he calls out after me.

After a relatively quick dinner, we meet with the Gryffindor boys and aimlessly walk through the hallways.

"Do you guys want to go to Honeydukes tonight? Buy some sweets and things for tomorrow?" Fred suggests once we circle the castle and find nothing to do.

"What do you mean go to Honeydukes? We can't, it's a holiday weekend." Emma looks confused out of her mind, Walter and I already know about the secret passages that the boys have but we sort of left Emma out of that discussion.

"Right! Emma and Walter haven't seen our map yet. Now we have to go!" George exclaims. George sends us to our dorms to get changed while Fred, Lee, and him head up to the Gryffindor common room to do the same.

"This doesn't seem like a very good idea Violet. What if we get caught?" Emma says changing out of her school robes and into a blouse and pants.

"Nonsense," I say buttoning up my green and black plaid shirt. "We will be with the boys, they can get away with murder." I tuck my shirt into my jeans and do a little twirl.

"Here, you have to wear this belt with that." Emma rummages through her trunk for a moment before pulling out a stunning brown leather belt. I grab my little shoulder purse that has my money in it and Emma and I head off to grab Walter before we meet the other boys.

"How do I look?" Walter says when we meet up with him. He's wearing is typical sweater vest and button-down collar shirt pairing with some jeans.

"You look, fine Wally, why do you even care? Come on, it's getting late." Emma says, she opens the common room door and we all head out. Emma is trying way too hard to look normal, talking way too loudly about going to the library to study.

We meet up with the boys in a side corridor on the third floor like we talked about.

"Ladies and gentlemen may I introduce you to the coolest Slytherins at Hogwarts!" Fred says enthusiastically when we approach. Emma giggles the way that she always does when a boy compliments her.

I wrap my arms around George's neck and he puts his hands on my hips. "Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" He whispers in my ear.

"A couple times yeah." I kiss him gently, and Fred gags.

"Alright, before George starts sucking Violets face-off lets go, it's a pretty long walk." Fred rolls his eyes when he speaks and he taps the parchment in his hand to unlock the map. "Okay come on, there's no teachers anywhere near here." Together we all head over to the one-eyed witch statue. Fred whips out his wand and taps the witch on the head "dissendium" he whispers. The hump on the back of the witch opens wide to reveal a slide that goes so deep you can't see the bottom.

"Are you mad? I'm not going down there!" Emma shrieks.

George grabs the map from his brother and opens it wide. "Well, you're going to have to because professor snape is coming down the corridor right now. Lee jumps up and slides down whooping and hollering, then Walter, and Fred. "Your turn Emma go, now," George says rather demanding. It was kind of attractive to hear him talk like that honestly.

Emma gulps, hops up to the top of the witch, mumbles something about hating us and slips down into the darkness. George looks at the map and gulps. "We're not gonna make it in time he's right around the corner." George taps the statue and the passage closes. He stuffs the map into his back pocket and looks at me worried. "What do we do? This isn't suspicious at all."

"Shut up and play along." I go over to the wall and press my back to it, George looks so very confused. I grab his arm and pull him into me, I put my hand on the back of his neck and kiss him hard. Just in time too because I can hear Snape approaching.

"Miss LeStrange." Snape's cold voice cuts the air like a steak knife.

George pulls away from me flustered and awkward. "Hi, sir, enjoying your night?" I say, wiping my mouth on my sleeve a bit.

"Curfew is at 10 pm LeStrange, don't let me catch you and... Weasley out after that." He looks George up and down from head to toe before moving past us, his robes flowing in the air behind him. We wait till we can't see him anymore before George pulls the map out again.

"That was... I'm so happy you're my girlfriend." He says, watching snape walk farther and farther away from us. Once he feels that its safe, George opens the passage again and I slide down.

"What the bloody hell took you two so long?" Fred exclaims when I hit the ground. We can hear the passage close and George comes tumbling down the slide.

"Snape almost caught us is all. We had to improvise." I say. George stands up and puts his hand in the back pocket of my jeans.

"Disgusting behaviour." Lee shudders to watch George and I interact. The walk to Honeydukes is long, about an hour to get there. Lee and Walter appear to be getting along more and more recently, they walk ahead of us joking around.

"Hey, you ever notice that Walter and Lee have been, I dunno, flirty?" Fred points out.

Emma tilts her head to the side and watches Lee shove Walter playfully ahead of us. "I guess so. I haven't really noticed it till now. Is Lee gay?"

"I don't think that's our place to say," George says firmly.

"Walter hasn't said anything to us about anything, I don't think it's our place to ask though." I look at everyone to make sure we are all on the same page. "They'll tell us if there's something going on when they want to."

Everyone nods their head in agreement and the conversation changes to Honeydukes. "What if it's closed when we get there huh? It's kind of late." Emma says, more so towards Fred than anyone else.

"I mean, we can just take a bunch of candy and leave a bunch of money. It's worked for us before."

Emma looks stunned. "Before? How many times have you people snuck out of school using your map of yours?"

"Far too many times to count there Em."

Lee and Walter stop at a staircase. "We're here guys. Come on now hurry up." Lee shouts. The rest of us pick up the pace. We all race up the stairs together eager to get out of the musty tunnel we've been walking in. Fred and George get to the trap door first and very carefully open it and pop their heads out to see if anyone is around.

"It looks like they're closed. Which makes things a lot easier for us. Come on!" Fred says, then he and George climb out, do a once over of the store to make sure their suspicions were correct and come back to get us.

"Take what you want but be sure to leave the money for it on the register. We aren't thieves." Fred says before dashing off to the part of the store with a wall full of different kinds of prank candy.

"This doesn't seem like a very good idea Violet," Emma whispers.

"Look, fizzy chocolate drops, your favourite," I say distracting her with a bucket of her favourite candies. Emma soon gets over the rule-breaking thing and we fill our pockets with as much candy as we can afford. For Emma, Walter, and I, it's quite a lot of stuff. Even though Walter is part muggle his wizarding family comes from loads of money so he's well off just like nearly every other Slytherin.

"George its okay, I can pay for some of your things if you need. I don't mind." I say watching George dig through all his pockets for any spare change he may have missed.

"No its alright, I'll just put some things away. Not a big deal." He says. Weasleys have a lot of pride I've found. It's difficult to get them to take your help when its offered. Especially with things of the monetary value.

"I could really go for a butterbeer before we head back to Hogwarts. What do you say?" Walter suggests.

I can see both Fred and George look at the candy they want, along with the money they left on the counter and sighing a little. Something that the others don't catch. But I know these boys like the back of my hand.

"I actually have some fire whiskey back at school. It'll be easier and safer to get. Madame Rosmerta knows we are students and she'll definitely write to Dumbledore if she sees us around." Walter looks kind of defeated when I say that. "Better not push our luck is all I'm saying."

Everyone agrees with me and they all head back down to the cellar. George stays behind and goes behind the counter and opens a cupboard that's underneath it. I don't say anything, I just watch him pull out a piece of parchment and a quill and quickly jot down a little note. "Thank you for the candy. This should cover it. Happy Halloween." He says out loud. He puts the quill back where he finds it, places a couple of knuts on the note and winks at me. "It's only polite."


	27. Part 2, Chapter 12

By the time we got back to Hogwarts, it was far past curfew, which terrified Emma, who's never broken a single rule at school before.

Before we open the one-eyed witch, Fred opens up the map to check who's around. "No one's in this corridor we'll be fine. Follow my lead."

"Wait, how are we going to get all the way to the dungeons without being caught?" Emma hisses. "We don't have a map."

Fred stops and turns to face her. "Well, we aren't just going to throw you into the shark tank. We'll get you back to your common room in one piece. Just promise to do what we say without hesitation."

Fred opens the passage and pops his head out, then he slowly climbs out and gestures for all of us to follow him. It takes some time to do it quietly but we all manage to get out without being seen.

"Fuck." Fred whispers, "its Filch, he's coming this way." George goes over to Fred and they start whispering aggressively, jamming their fingers into the map.

"This way guys hurry," George whispers. He takes my hand and pulls me in the direction of a small broom closet. Everyone else follows, trying to move fast but not make noise. George opens the door and we all squeeze in, he closes the door carefully and through the crack on the door, we can all see Filch turn the corner.

"We have to go up to the fifth floor, there's a classroom that has a staircase that goes right into the dungeons. Getting there is going to be difficult though." George explains in a very hushed tone. He flicks his wand and the tip lights up so we can all see the map in the darkness.

"We are here see?" Fred points his finger at the cluster of names that we make up. "We have to go eight doors down, past the crying man's portrait to the loose brick in the wall. When you push the brick into the wall it opens a hole. We climb into that hole, go up the stairs and we get to the fifth floor. You following me?" He traces his finger along the path he is describing and looks up at all of us.

"This map is bloody brilliant," Walter says in awe. Even in the darkness, I can see Emma trembling with nerves but she shakes her head agreeing with Wally.

"See that though? Professor Babbling is right next to where we are headed. Which means we either have to wait here and hope no one needs a broom or we cause a distraction till they're gone."

"She's my ancient ruins teacher, trust me she's not moving anytime soon," I whisper.

"Leave it to LeStrange to take ancient ruins. What even is that."

George thumps Lee on the head, "Now is not the time to be discussing who takes what course Jordan." He looks at his brother, "We do have the decoy still."

Fred looks like he's been punched in the face. "Are you mad? We haven't even tested it yet!"

George shrugs his shoulders, "What better time than now? Worst thing that can happen is we lose house points and get detention. Best thing? We know if the decoy detonator works."

"That's what you two have named that contraption thing you were working on all summer? I'm disappointed."

Emma and Walter are very confused at this point, "what in the world are you three talking about?" Walter whispers.

"Never mind that. Look it's in our dorm room, we don't even have it with us!" Fred looks at George.

"Well, we could..."

"We haven't tested what it does when magic is used on it though!"

"Again, there's no harm in finding out."

"Yeah find out and scare poor Kenneth right out of his underpants!"

"Couldn't hurt to try..?"

"You just want to impress Violet."

Walter, Lee, Emma, and I all stand quiet as the two boys argue in half-finished sentences. "Well, it sounds like the best plan we have at the moment so will one of you cast the summoning charm and get us out of here!" Lee whisper yells at the boys.

Fred grumbles about his brother's stupidity and shoves the map in his back pocket. "If you're wrong about this, I'll have your neck."

"If I'm wrong about this I'll give it to you."

Fred pulls out his wand and huffs. He closes his eyes, picturing the object like Flitwick told us to, "Accio Decoy Detonator." He whispers as he forms an arch in the air with his broom. He opens one eye like he's testing the waters. "George I swear on great aunt Tessie..." suddenly there's a loud crashing noise and an object flies through the broom cupboards wall.

George catches it in midair and looks at his brother with wide eyes. "And you guessed my judgement."

"Stop gloating and get us out of here." Emma snaps. No one was expecting that apparently because we all look at her shocked. "I want to go to bed!"

George cracks open the door and tosses the detonator down the opposite hallway that we need to be in. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. BANG! We can hear Professor Babbling screech and Fred quickly pulls the map out of his pocket. We stand still, hardly breathing, as we see her name rush past the closet that we are in, going towards the sound we caused.

"Go now Go!" Fred whisper screams. George pulls the door open again and races towards the portrait of the crying man. We all follow him as quietly as possible, he hits the brick with his fist and a small hole near the floor opens up. George stands there and ushers all of us through before him and Fred crawl through to the other side. Once in, Fred pushed the brick back into position and the hole closes up.

George lights his wand again so we can all see, Fred unfolds the map a bit more to explain our next moves. "We go up these stairs which will take us to the fifth floor, inside of the prefect bathroom. We'll have to figure out how to open the passage because Georgie and I have only done it once before but it can't be that difficult."

Emma gulps and grabs a hold of my hand tightly. "After that, it's rather simple. We go into the music rooms that no one ever uses, open the old instrument cupboard and go down those stairs which will lead us here." George points to the dungeons with his wand. "Which is perfect because your common room is..."

"Here," I say pointing at the edge of the lake that's right beside the dungeons.

"Whoever made this map first must have been a Gryffindor because that's the only common room that's drawn." Walter points out, peering over my shoulder, which isn't a difficult task given he's the tallest out of all of us.

"Wait, before we go up the stairs, everyone takes their shoes off and tie them around your neck. We'll make less noise that way." George says to us all.

"I knew there was a reason I keep you around Georgie boy," Fred says, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Ugh gross, it's so dusty, I'm going to have to wash my feet a dozen times after this," Emma complains as we start up the stairs. I smile and shake my head at her comment.

We try to go up the stairs as quietly as possible, one by one because the staircase is very narrow. On occasion, George turns around to check that I'm okay but other than that there's no communication.

"Okay, we're here. What's behind this door again Georgie?" Fred whispers when we reach the top.

"The entrance is hidden by a toilet if I'm not mistaken. Remember we had to blow it up to get out of here during second year?" The twins laugh at the memory before getting serious again.

"There has to be an easier way though I mean what if there's..."

"That might work but what if we try..."

"No don't be stupid George, how in the world would that work!"

"We just have to think like very old wizards cause they're the wankers that made this castle..."

"Boys, will you please talk in full sentences so we can all understand what you're thinking?" Emma yawns, we can all tell she's very tired of all of us.

"I mean I understood it all. It's not that hard really, all you have to do is..." Lee starts.

"What we have to do is get out of this damn staircase!"

I push my way to the top of the stairs where the boys are standing staring at the wall, it takes me a second but I notice a toilet handle protruding from the wall. "George brings your wand over here for a second, I need light." He does as I ask and lowers his wand to what I'm looking at.

"How the hell did you see that!" Fred says excitedly.

"If this works I'll lose my mind," I whisper, and with that, I push the handle down, like I'm flushing a toilet. The brick wall swings open and we are face to face with a bathroom stall.

"God, you're fantastic." George sighs. We all step out into the bathroom very quietly. Once we are all out the wall swings shut again. We all go to the door that leads out to the hallway but before we leave the bathroom Fred checks the map again.

"It's the third door on the opposite side of the hallway. No teacher insight. Let's go." He whispers. He cracks open the door and him and George both pop their heads out just to double-check if the coast is clear. Then they dash out of the door and we all follow like lost puppies. This transition from one location to the other is a lot faster than the one downstairs because in no time we are all safely in the music room with the door closed behind us.

"I can't believe this is actually working." Lee gasps for air.

"Why'd you go and say that? Now we are going to be caught." Walter groans.

Fred throws open the instrument closet door, pushes a few boxes out of the way and opens a trap door in the middle of the closet's floor. "Right this way, please. Next stop, the Hogwarts dungeons." Fred heads down the stairs first. Followed by Emma, Lee, and Walter.

"Thank you for tonight Georgie," I say to my boyfriend as the others head down the stairs. "It's been fantastic."

George smiles and plants a kiss on my lips before telling me to go down the stairs. He follows behind, fixing the boxes over the trap door again before fully closing it behind him. We rush down the long staircase to meet with our friends at the bottom.

"Snape is by the entrance of the dungeons. Best if you all go one at a time." Fred whispers to us looking very carefully at the map.

"I'll go first. Just tell me when." Emma whispers. She waits for Fred's signal and she dashes out from our hiding spot and quickly opens the common room door without being seen by anyone.

We wait for what feels like ever before Fred sends Walter next. It's his first time opening the common room door by himself in four years. My breath gets caught in my throat as I watch him through the crack in the wall but he manages to get in smoothly. I turn to look at the boys. "I'll see you lot tomorrow. Don't get into trouble." I hug Lee and Fred in turn and kiss George on the cheek before I turn back around and head out of the hiding spot.

I dash over to the door, place my fingertips on the wall and as soon as I go to say pureblood, "Miss LeStrange. What a pleasure it is to see you tonight." Snape sneers from behind me.

"Bloody hell"


	28. Part 2, Chapter 13

"What would your uncle say if he could see you right now Miss LeStrange?" I turn around to face Snape, the look on his face tells me that he is thoroughly enjoying catching me out of the common room. "Running around with the Weasley boy late at night, your family must be so proud."

I clear my throat and take a deep breath, "I don't know what you're talking about professor. I was just returning from the owlery. I wrote to my aunt asking for help with the head cold I've had for the past week because madam Pomfrey appears to be useless."

Snape doesn't say anything for a beat, "And why, did your letter have to be sent tonight, after curfew?"

I don't hesitate with my answer. "When I left I wasn't breaking curfew at all. But I got held up my Peeves. Every time I tried to enter the castle again Peeves would do something to stop me from getting back inside!"

One of the worst lies I've ever told but it looks like Snape believes it. "I hope your aunt's response helps you with your head cold LeStrange. Now get to bed. Don't let me catch you out of the common room after curfew again or there will be serious consequences."

"Of course professor, I'm sorry I wasted your time tonight." I turn back around and open the common room door. "Have a good night sir," I say before stepping inside and letting the door close behind me.

"Where have you been?" Draco is sitting on a couch in the middle of the common room. His pyjamas are wrinkled and his hair is messy. He's holding my kitten Fergus in his lap.

"None of your business where I've been. You want a cauldron cake?" I walk over to him and pull a cake out of my pocket.

He looks at it skeptically before taking it out of my hand and unwrapping it. "Did you lose us any house points?" He says his mouth full of dessert. Crumbs drop from his lips and fall onto my cat.

I take Fergus out of Draco's lap and brush the crumbs off his head. "Course I didn't who do you think I am?"

"Someone who sneaks out after curfew and comes back with cauldron cakes." Draco crumples up the wrapper and tosses it into the fireplace. "Can I have another?"

I shift Fergus from my right hand to my left and I dig into my pocket to find another cake for Draco. "I'll give it to you as long as you don't say anything to Aunt and Uncle. Deal?" I hold it away from him.

"Yeah, course not. Isn't that what family is for." He snatches the cake out of my hand and kisses my cheek gently. "Your cat likes me better than you." Is the only other thing he says before he goes back into the boy's hallway and into his dorm.

I hold Fergus out in front of me and look into his eyes, "You like me don't you?" Fergus licks my wrist in response so I'm taking that as an 'of course I like you' instead of an 'I'm a cat and I can't understand a single thing you're saying to me.'

I bring Fergus back close to my body and walk down the girl's hall and into my dorm. I creak the door open slowly but thankfully everyone but Emma is fast asleep. I put Fergus down and he scampers off and jumps onto my bed.

"What took you so long?" Emma hisses at me. "Wally and I stayed in the common room for a while but we heard someone come out of their dorm so we ran."

I open my trunk as quietly as I can and pull out my all black silk pyjama set. "Snape caught me before I could open the common room door, lied my arse off and surprisingly he believed me. Speaking of, I have to write a letter to my aunt asking for tips to get rid of a head cold." I pull out some spare parchment and my ink and quill and sit on the floor by my bed to write a very quick letter.

"You got rid of your head cold days ago, what are you even talking about," Emma asks as she watches me blow the ink dry.

I cap my ink and wrap my quill back into the little bag I keep my writing things in. I shove them back into my trunk and pull out my families stamp. "I have to in case Snape writes to my aunt to corroborate my story. The less you know the better. Pass me that candle."

Emma grabs the still-lit candle from her bedside and carefully carries it over to me. I drip some of the hot wax on the back of the folded letter and put the stamp on top of it, sealing the letter shut. "Remind me to run to the owlery before breakfast tomorrow," I whisper. Emma and I climb back into our beds.

"I cannot believe that tonight happened." Emma sighs, she blows out the candle and the room goes completely dark besides the dim glow of the lake water shining through the glass.

"It was bloody fantastic," I say with a smile on my face. I fall asleep nearly right after that, dreaming of racing through the castle halls with George and his map.

When I wake up, it's not quite light out by the looks of the sun through the lake water. No one else is awake yet either. I put on a pair of flats and make my bed before wrapping myself in my robe, putting my hair up, grabbing the letter for my aunt off my bedside table and tiptoeing out of my dorm and out into the hallways of the dungeons.

Apparently George also woke up early today because I bump into him on my way out of the dungeons. "Hey, there stranger," I say to him. As soon as he hears my voice his face cracks open into a smile and he comes over to me.

"I see you survived Snape last night." He puts his arms around my waist and pulls me into him, I wrap my arms around his torso, the letter I need to send off still in my hand.

"Barley." I kiss him gently. When I pull away I lean my head onto his chest and squeeze him tight. George is only a couple inches taller than me but it's the perfect height difference for hugs.

"Where are you off to this early anyway?" George asks after a moment, his voice vibrating through my whole body.

I pull away from him, "I have to go to the owlery. Just in case Snape wants to check in on my story I told him last night." I wave the letter in my hand in front of George's face.

"I'll come with you." He takes my hand in his and together we walk down the halls and out to the owlery. Thankfully, Nutmeg was sitting there amongst the other owls. I give her a bit of nougat I had from last night and put the letter in her beak. "Bring it home, get it to Aunt Narcissa as soon as you can," I tell her before patting her on the head and sending her out into the cold October air.

"You ready for later today? With your big staircase plans and everything?" I say to George. He doesn't respond right away, he's just watching my every move.

"Nah Fred and I decided to move it to a later date. Last night was enough excitement for the weekend I think."

"Oh right sure, you're just going to let me believe that you and Fred are going to take it easy for the next little while."

George laughs at me and leans back on the railing around the middle of the room. "We are doing the Slinkys on our birthday, along with a bunch of other things of course."

"Of course."

"I have to head out to the quidditch pitch soon. Wood's got us practising all day. 'okay men and women, this is it, the big one, the day we've all been waiting for' blah blah blah. You know I haven't been properly dry since August all because your uncle bought your entire house new brooms and it stressed Wood out."

"You love spending your mornings with Wood though, you wouldn't change it for the world." I realize how it sounded as soon as it came out of my mouth. George doubles over with laughter. "You're a child you know? Real mature."

"Morning wood." George sighs wiping a tear from his eye very dramatically, "How have I never noticed that before."

Together we walk back to the castle and get into the great hall just in time for breakfast. Though the seating rules are a lot more relaxed on weekends and holidays, George and I part ways and sit at our house tables, neither of us really wanting to cause a scene. It's one thing for a Slytherin and a Gryffindor to be dating, it's a whole other topic when the two in question start sitting at each other's tables.

"You're not even dressed yet?" Walter points out when I join them at the table.

"Its Saturday, I don't plan on getting dressed at all."

Emma yawns loudly and hits Walter in the head when she stretches. "Did you send that letter? I forgot to wake you up." Emma groans.

"Yeah don't worry, it's all sorted." Walter looks from Emma to me looking for answers, "I'll tell you later."

Draco comes up behind me and sits down for a moment. "You're going to be at the quidditch match next weekend right Violet? You have to be." He turns from me to my friends. "It's my first game, I'm the Slytherin seeker!"

"Congratulations Draco, we'll all be there to support you don't worry about that. Focus on getting us a win." Walter says happily.

"It will be easy, poor Potter's not going to know what hit him. Bye Violet, I'll see you later." Draco gives me a one-armed hug before getting up and going over to his group of friends.

"Are eggs considered animals?" Emma questions, eyeing a big plate of scrambled eggs that are slowly floating by.

"ugh, I hate eggs. The smell alone makes me sick." I say, forcing the plate to move by faster.

"Okay, but you didn't answer my question. Are eggs animals? Like I know that chickens and things lay eggs, but are they considered animals? Can I eat them?"

Walter takes a piece of toast off of a different floating tray, "I dunno, should have asked your French vegetarian friends before you decided to actually become one."

Emma follows the plates of eggs, bacon, and sausages down the table with her eyes. "Maybe this vegetarian thing isn't for me."

"Oh nonsense, don't give up that quickly. You should take muggle studies next year, ask the professor if they know about vegetarians."

Emma laughs, "Muggle studies! Even if I wanted to take that useless course, if my parents even thought I was interested in the muggle world I'd be ripped right out of Hogwarts and shut up in my room till mother and father find me a worthy enough husband." She takes a slice of toast off of Walters plate. "Happened to my cousin, though I'm not allowed to call her my cousin anymore. Had her removed from grandmothers will and everything."

"That took a dark turn," Walter grumbles.

"It's just the truth. Loads of families act like that about muggle students and things. Violet's family is a perfect example of that."

Walter looks at me but I shrug my shoulders. "It happened to my cousin Sirius Black. He ran away, became a blood traitor, and his mother burned him out of the tree without a second thought... Probably what's going to happen to me, hanging out with the Weasleys all the time." I turn in my seat, looking over my shoulder at the boys. Not a care in the world, they sit there howling with laughter. It pains me to see them so carefree, knowing that I can never truly be like that.

"That's not true Violet, don't think like that."

I turn back in my seat and look sadly at my friends, "It is true, I've come to terms with it. Besides, it's totally worth it."

Once all the plates clear off the tables we all get up and shuffle out of the hall. Walter, Emma, and I wait in a corner as not to get in anyone's way for the Gryffindor boys to come out. The three come out and come over to us. "Loving the outfit today there LeStrange really humbles you." Fred jokes.

"Are those satin pyjamas?" Lee chimes in.

"Come off it, both of you. It's the weekend and I can dress however I damn well, please. Besides, I didn't get much sleep last night if you don't remember." George comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist and hangs on tight.

"Do you want to come watch us practice? I promise we'll make it interesting for you." George whispers into my ear.

I lean back into him and hum "It is a nice day finally... what do you two think?"

"I don't have any plans." Walter shrugs.

Emma says something along the lines of 'whatever you two want to do is fine by me' in a very airy tone as she stares at a few passing Ravenclaw boys.

Fred and George rush off to get their quidditch things and Lee follows the happily. We promise to meet up with the boys a little later "I desperately need to brush my teeth, I feel disgusting." Emma tells the boys when they suggest us all going there immediately.

When we get to our dorm, Emma grabs her toiletries bag and dashes off to the bathroom at the end of the girl's hallway. I decide that pyjamas and a robe might not be the most suitable attire for a cold October day so I put on jeans and the sweater that Molly made for me last year and wrap myself in my house scarf.

Emma comes back into our dorm and throws her stuff onto her bed. We lock arms and go out into the common room to meet Walter. Instead, we find my cousin Draco, complaining about none other than Harry Potter to his friends.

"I mean seriously who would invite him to a party and not us! It's always perfect potter and his godforsaken friends." Draco moans.

"We can have a party of our own Draco! And not invite them." Pansy says trying to make the situation better. Instead of responding, Draco just rolls his eyes in a very Malfoy when we are presented with a bad idea and throws himself onto the couch in despair.

"A tad bit dramatic don't you think Draco?" I laugh at him.

He opens one eye to look at me, "Leave me to my woes. You wouldn't understand!" He wails and closes his eye again. Emma snorts and I watch him with raised eyebrows and a slight smile on my face. Suddenly he sits upright, nearly hitting Goyle in the head as he does. "My father will hear about this that's for sure and certain! Crabbe, go get my parchment and quill from my trunk. Once father hears about this nonsense, he'll have a word with the Bloody Baron and he'll make sure that that blasted Gryffindor ghost meets his fate."

Pansy claps in excitement, "Oh that's a brilliant plan Draco!"

"Meets his fate? Draco he's already dead what else can Uncle Lucius do?" Emma laughs, and Draco sits there staring at us in defeat.

"Walter hurry up now!" Emma calls through the common room. Draco goes back to complaining to his friends about merlin knows what as Walter comes out of his dorm and comes to meet us. I don't even bother saying goodbye to Draco in this state of 'utter despair' so the three of us head out of the common room and out towards the quidditch field.

"Have you ever spoke to George about your family worries and things before Vi?" Emma asks as we climb up the stands of the quidditch pitch, "I mean, maybe he could, I dunno, change his views on things so that you could stay apart of your family?"

"Tell George Weasley to change his views on the world and get destroyed by his entire family just so that I don't lose my family? Absolutely not. The Weasleys are far too pure for the world, they have to be protected not torn apart."

Emma and Walter let that conversation die quickly sensing that I'm very mad that she would even suggest such a thing. They break off into their own little conversation about potions class and I sit and stare off into the horizon thinking about what Emma said. Course it would be easier for everyone if he shared the same beliefs as my family, and he's a pureblood so it wouldn't be considered wrong in my families eyes. Even if I was to bring it up, I know I don't feel the same way as my family. At the same time, there have been people talking about the return of the Dark Lord more and more recently, so it would be safer to just shut up and follow my family blindly.

"Violet, are you even paying attention?" Emma says, snapping me out of my wandering mind.

I shake my head and refocus my eyes on my friends. The Gryffindor team are now on the pitch, apparently, George has been trying to get my attention for the past five minutes. I wave down at him and smile, he does the same right back. I watch as the team climbs onto their brooms and soar into the sky. Fred and George start smashing a bludger back and forth while the rest of the team goes through plays by the looks of things. Only Walter is interested in whatever the rest of the team is doing. Emma brought along some homework to work on, which leaves me to sit and watch my boyfriend and his brother soar through the sky.

"Oi!" Emma, Walter, and I scream as a chaser soars right over our head, I can feel their cloak brush my hair they were so close.

"You better watch it you damn Gryffindor!" Emma screams after her.

George comes flying over and hops off his broom and into the stands. "You alright love? Katie is a little eager when it comes to practices."

I stand up from my spot so I am face to face with him, "Yeah, I'm alright." I kiss him, as a thank you for checking in on me and my friends.

It doesn't take long for the Gryffindor team captain to notice that George is no longer on his broom because he is soon hovering a few feet away from us. "Weasley, what the bloody hell do you think you're doing? Bringing Slytherins of all people to come watch our practice!" Oliver says in a very annoyed tone.

"Morning Wood, nice to see you again," I say. George laughs but he quickly stops when he sees Oliver's face.

"Her cousin is on the opposing team! I mean seriously George use your brain!" Oliver looks at Emma, "What are you doing? Taking notes on our formations?"

Emma looks up from her homework, "Right because a stupid quidditch match my main focus at a school." Emma snaps back at him.

Oliver is taken aback. "Right well, this is a closed practice. I need you all to leave or else I'll have to take it up with McGonagall."

"Ohh McGonagall, how terrifying," Walter says sarcastically.

"Is that all you have Oak Tree? Calling your head of house on us?" Emma joins in. She slams her textbook shut and caps her ink again.

"I wish you all a fantastic practice, I hope you lose next weekend," I say. Oliver doesn't say anything he just stares at all of us. "Come find me after practice. Stay safe." I peck George on the cheek and my friends and I all get up and leave.

"Come on Weasley, back on your broom!" I hear Oliver shout at George.

"He's an arse. Closed practice? What team does he think he's on? The national team?" Walter growls.

"I didn't mind, he was kind of cute. Reckon he's a pureblood?" Emma asks us.

Walter and I just groan and roll our eyes.


	29. Part 2, Chapter 14

After the Halloween feat that night, everyone is so full that no one moves at first. Until someone comes running into the great hall screaming about a blood message. That tends to get everyone in the moving mood.

Emma, Walter, and I follow the huge crowd of students out of the dining hall and up the stairs to the second floor, "At least it's not in the dungeons this time." I say to my friends as I push through the crowd trying to get a look at whatever it is that's going on. Emma is holding onto the belt of my pants, Walter is holding onto Emma's shirt, together we squish past all the muttering students and make our way to the front of the crowd. We gasp when we see what's actually going on. In blood, the message,

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR BEWARE.

On a torch bracket stuck on the wall beside it, Filch's cat Mrs Norris is hanging, dead. Emma buries her face into Walters shirt.

"Enemies of the Heir beware?" Draco shouts from the other side of the crowd. He glances at me for a moment before continuing, "You'll be next mud bloods!"

"I'm going to kill that damn kid," I mumble, but I can't be mad right now, fear builds up inside me, I can take my eyes off of the poor cat hanging on the wall.

Footsteps approach quickly, "What's going on here? What's going on!" Its Filch, his rusty sounding voice cuts through the silence of the group. The group parts slightly to let him through. As soon as he sees his cat he clutches his face in horror. "My cat! My cat! What happened to Mrs Norris!" He screams. No one says anything, they just watch as he turns his attention to none other than Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, who are standing in the middle of the semi-circle we have created.

"That poor man," Emma whispers.

Filch goes over to the three Gryffindors, red in the face. "You! You murdered my cat! You've killed her! I'll kill you!" Filch roars, which doesn't sit well with any of the students.

"Argus!" It was Professor Dumbledore, he and a few other teachers make their way into the centre of the group. He then goes over and takes Mrs Norris off of the torch bracket. "Argus come with me, you too Mr Potter, Mr Weasley, and Miss Granger. The rest of you go back to your common rooms immediately!" Dumbledore gives everyone instructions. The crowd, still silent, departs in every which way, Lockhart offers Dumbledore his office as we all depart.

Once we are back in our common room is when everyone starts talking at once. "The chamber of secrets? What do you suppose that is?" I hear a sixth-year girl ask her friends.

"Come into my dorm and I'll teach you if you like." An older boy says to her. The girl and her friends start screaming at him for his comment, Emma, Walter, and I narrowly miss being hit in the head with her book bag as we pass by them.

We find a corner of the room that is sort of secluded and we all plop down on the floor. "I can't believe a staff member threatened to kill a student! In front of everybody!" Emma wails.

"He's not going to do it calm down. Besides, a squib couldn't hurt a wizard!" I say back to Emma in attempts to calm her down.

"What do you mean a squib? Who's a squib?" Walter asks, nearly forgetting what it is that we saw painted on the wall.

"Filch is, the twins and I saw a letter about it in his office. But that's not the point. The point is that someone killed Mrs Norris and wrote a message about the chamber of secrets on the wall in her blood!" I look at Emma and Walter desperately. "Now we all know the rumours that Salazar Slytherin put a hidden room in Hogwarts but I didn't know it was real! I thought it was just something that us Slytherins say to freak out the other houses."

"I'll write to my grandmother. She used to tell me stories about Hogwarts, one of them included the chamber of secrets." Emma says, finally getting her act together.

"I'll ask my uncle if it has to do with Slytherins history, Uncle Lucius is the person to ask." No one was in the Halloween mood after that. No one left the common room either, which sucks because I'd rather be with George than learning the properties of the flutterby bush for my herbology class Monday morning.

"Violet, are you writing to father about what happened?" Draco knocks on the door to my dorm room and I usher him inside.

I close my textbook to give Draco my undivided attention. "I already finished my letter, Hopefully, Nutmeg will be back tomorrow morning with Aunt Narcissa response about something I asked her so we can send off our letters." Draco stands awkwardly at the edge of my bed so I move over and pat the mattress. He comes over and sits down cross-legged facing me.

"We aren't in danger or anything are we? I mean you don't necessarily act the way Slytherins are supposed to act... you might be seen as an enemy of the heir." Draco says softly.

I put my hand on his knee to comfort him. "Don't you worry about me okay? I'll manage by myself. You focus on getting your grades up and winning your first ever quidditch match."

By next week the whole school was talking about the chamber of secrets, so much so that our professors have banned talking about it in their classrooms. During my ancient ruins class Cedric Diggory, a rather attractive Hufflepuff boy asked Professor Babbling about it, which nearly got him detention.

"Hey, Violet right?" Cedric jogs up to me in the hallway Friday night after dinner. "You're a Slytherin..."

I spin around on my heels, "thank you ever so much for reminding me of my house, I was starting to get confused."

Cedric puts his hands up in the air as if to say he's not trying to attack me. "I was just curious if you knew anything about the chamber of secrets. Your house seems to always know everything."

"You've bee in my classes for the past four years, never once talking to me let alone look in my direction, and now you want me to tell you everything I know about something that doesn't concern you?" I tilt my head to the right waiting for his response.

"Well, I just thought you'd be the person to talk to given you seem to have... friends in other houses. Unlike most other Slytherin folk I know. Sorry I bothered you." Cedric leaves as George comes up beside me.

"What did Diggory want?" George asks slinking his arm around my shoulders.

"Wanted to know if I knew anything about the chamber of secrets. Thought I'd be the person to ask." I grumble as I watch Cedric walk away from us.

"Well, you don't right? So there's nothing to worry about." George turns me around gently and we start to walk towards the library so I can help him catch up on some of his school work.

The truth is I know more about it then I have let anyone but Emma and Walter know. Emma's grandmother wrote back to her almost immediately and explained the whole thing to her in great detail. She said a boy in her year, a Slytherin boy, opened the chamber and muggle-born students started to turn up dead. At that time there were far fewer of them around, especially in the Slytherin house so everyone was very concerned that the Slytherins had something to do with it. Which we did of course but that's not the point. She said that it wasn't the wizard who opened it that did all the killings, but there was a beast living in the school walls that would go around and do the killing for him. We all promised never to tell anyone that we knew so much, in fear that they would think that one of us was the heir of Slytherin. Not like people don't have their suspicions. There are whispers throughout the school that say that either Draco or I are the heir simply because our family is one of the oldest wizarding families, and we are all sorted into Slytherin besides a select few.

When George and I walk into the library, about five students turn around to look at me. Ignoring them all I take George's hand and lead him to an empty desk in one of the rows of books. "What do you want to start with?" I ask, pulling all of my textbooks out of my shoulder bag and putting them onto the desk.

"This." George cups my cheek with his hand and kisses my lips. He moves his other hand to my other cheek and holds me like that for a moment.

"Five points from both Gryffindor and Slytherin. This is a library, not a hotel room." Madam Pince says from behind us. George immediately pulls away from me and turns to face the school's librarian.

"Sorry ma'am, we'll be more discreet next time." George winks at Madam Pince and I laugh a bit.

"Another five points from Gryffindor. Keep it up Mister Weasley, it's very rare that I get to take points away from students." And with that she continues to walk down the aisle, monitoring the other students.

"Ten points for a kiss from you? One of the best exchanges I've ever made." George takes my hand in his and brings my hand to his mouth and kisses it gently. "Can you help me with the history composition, I haven't exactly started it yet and it's supposed to be four feet long."

"I know how long it's supposed to be, I finished it days ago like you were supposed to." I pull my bag into my lap and pull out a cylinder container. I pop the top off and pull out my perfectly worded composition about the events leading up to the goblin rebellion.

"Can I read it? I'll only steal a few sentences." George begs me.

"Absolutely not! All the information you need for it is in the eighth chapter of our textbook, do you ever pay attention in class?"

George snatches my history book out of the pile in front of me and flips through to find the eighth chapter. "As long as one of us pays attention than its alright. Besides I can't stand Binns voice."

"Be quiet and read. I have to rewrite my composition for herbology, it looks horrific right now."

George stops and looks at me with a smirk on his face, "Do you seriously rewrite your compositions because you don't like how they look?"

I take out my canister full of blank parchment and carefully measure out the two feet I need for my herbology composition. I shove the canister back into my bag and take out a different canister that holds the first copy of the homework. "You don't? I'd rather lie down and die than to submit a composition full of crossed-out words and accidental ink drops." I unroll the composition I've written to show George how unprofessional it looks, and put books on both the top and bottom of it to stop it from rolling back up again. "Don't distract me, I want to get this done tonight so I can actually enjoy my weekend."

"Whatever gets you out to the quidditch pitch tomorrow love."


	30. Part 2, Chapter 15

No one in Slytherin eats breakfast in the hall the day of the quidditch match. Everyone is to busy making signs and getting dressed in the greenest clothes we own. Emma, Walter, and I use the sheets off of the spare bed in Walters room and we turn it into a huge "FLY DRACO FLY" sign using green and silver paint that I manage to grab from the muggle arts classroom on the sixth floor.

"Hullo, Emma." A males voice says from behind us. We turn around and Adrien Pucey is standing there looking at us all. "Mind if I walk you to the game today?"

Emma looks at both Walter and me who shrug our shoulders. Emma turns back around to look at Adrien, "I suppose that's alright." She gets up from her sitting position on the floor, "I'll save you guys a seat." She says to us before her and Adrien awkwardly walk away side by side.

"Three galleons that she's going to be crying about him again in two weeks time," I say to Walter once the two are out of earshot.

"I'll give it a month. I have faith this time, they've both grown up a bit." Walter stands up and puts his hand down to help me get up off the floor.

"She's been obsessed with a new boy every week for the past two months. First, it was Fred, then Cedric, then Miles, then Roger, back to Fred, sprinkle in a little bit of Graham, and end it off with Oliver Wood and you'll be caught up to yesterday." I reach down and grab the sign we made. Walter takes the other side and we start to fold it in on itself.

"Okay but maybe she was just deflecting all her feelings for Adrien onto other boys?"

I take the now-folded sign from Walter and sigh, "Or she's just trying to get over her French boy if he even exists."

"Did you see that? That stupid girl walking with my Adrien! She's going to pay for that I swear on it." Clarissa says very loudly to Miriam and Henrietta as we pass by them. "And there goes her muggle loving best friends, what a waste of space."

Walter tries to stop me by grabbing my arm but it doesn't work. I pull my wand out from my back pocket and in one quick movement, I step towards her and jam my wand under her jawbone. The whole common room goes silent. Cassandra closes her eyes tight and starts to shake, Miriam and Henrietta step away from her. "Say it again," I whisper into her ear. Cassandra whimpers and shakes her head no. "Say it fucking again Cassandra." I jam my wand harder against her throat. "Talk about me or my friends ever again and I'll split you down the middle, do you understand me?" she nods like a hundred times before I step away from her and remove my wand from her neck.

Cassandra wipes a tear off her face quickly and rushes out of the common room, Miriam and Henrietta follow close behind her. I slowly turn around looking at the rest of the students in the common room. "Anyone else have anything to say about who I decide to spend my time with?" No one says anything, instead, they go back to whatever they were doing and start quietly talking amongst themselves again.

I storm out of the common room, Walter follows me. As soon as the door closes behind us I slump on the wall and look at Walter exhausted. "I can't believe I just did that." I kind of laugh to myself. "I really just told someone I would split them in half."

Walter with a look of confusion, amusement, and horror plastered on his face just stares at me as I have a total laughing fit to myself. "It was pretty terrifying if I'm being honest. You looked a lot like those pictures of your mum that the Daily Prophet puts out every once in a while."

I take a deep breath and wipe a tear from my eye, "I felt like I was connected to her for a minute too. I didn't like it." I lean back over my hands on my knees. "Whoo okay, let's go watch the match." I stand up fully and link my arm around Walters and together we head out into the field behind the castle.

It's a fairly long walk down to the pitch but its full of noise. No matter what house you're in or what house is playing, everyone goes to the quidditch matches, and everyone cheers for Gryffindor if their house isn't playing, everyone except for Slytherin of course.

"Violet, Walter! What took you so long!" Emma calls from the bleachers when she sees us walking up the stairs.

We squeeze through the rows of hollering students to get to the seats Emma saved for us. "Trust me, you'll hear about it soon enough."

Emma looks at Walter but he just shakes his head. The crowd erupts around us, I look down at the pitch and watch as both teams come out from their change rooms. Walter and Emma grab the sign for Draco out of my arms and unfold it so they can fly it for Draco to see. "On my whistle! One... Two... Three...!" Madam Hooch yells. She blows the whistle loud, the players shoot into the air and the whole stadium loses their minds.

A bludger soars right towards Harry's head, George goes flying after it and smashes it towards a Slytherin player before it reaches Harry's face. "Bloody hell that was close!" I say, exhaling as I do so.

"And a fantastic save by the Gryffindor Bludger... He's one of the Weasleys!" Lee's voice blares through the pitch.

"Walter, are bludgers supposed to act like that?" I pull on Walter's arm so I can get his attention. I point up at Harry being quite literally chased by a bludger.

"Not in the slightest, but look, George's got it," Walter says, he focuses back onto the chasers who are lower down in the air.

"That's Fred but yeah... it looks like he's got it." A raindrop hits me between the eyes, then another, and another. "Course, just what we need on Draco's first game." The sky opens up and soon no one can see a thing through the rain. I quickly cast impervius to make the sign we made waterproof. Emma, Walter, and I all huddle underneath it to protect ourselves from the rain.

"And Slytherin score again, making it Slytherin lead sixty to zero," Lee says into the mic. Every Slytherin in the stands screams as loud as we can.

I get distracted by Harry, who is still being chased by the rogue bludger. George and Fred are flying side by side with him, hitting the bludger as far away as possible. Which doesn't work at all, cause it just comes soaring back towards Harry's head.

"What the hell is going on up there," I whisper, trying to see through the heavy rain. Madam Hooch's whistle cuts through the crowd's cheers and the players drop out of the air and land in the pitch

"Looks like the Gryffindors can't keep up with us!" Emma shouts the Slytherins around us cheer in agreement.

"The bludger was attacking Potter. Something's not right." I say, still trying to point out the obvious to my fellow Slytherins.

Madam Hooch blows her whistle again and the game starts up. The rain gets worse, students start running out of the bleaches and spring back to the castle for cover. The teammates shoot back up into the air, George and Fred leave Harry alone with his bludger.

"The hell are they doing?" I mumble to myself.

Emma and Walter are to busy chatting with the Slytherins behind them and teasing the Hufflepuffs in front of them.

"Look! It's the snitch!" Emma screams. She points up to where Harry and Draco are struggling in the sky. Sure enough, the snitch was hovering by Draco's ear, the flash of gold is impossible to miss.

"What is he doing! Draco the snitch you blind baboon!" I scream. Before anyone could do anything about the snitch the bludger that has been following Harry all game smashes into his arm. The crowd gasps. We all watch in silence as Harry tumbles down to the ground. His team flies over to try and stop his fall but it doesn't work. He hits the ground with a thud so loud that everyone can hear it even over the rainstorm.

I stand up to try and see what's going on. Hooch, McGonagall, and Lockhart storm the pitch and run over to Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor team. The whole school starts murmuring, no one can see anything.

"It's the snitch! Harry Potter has caught the golden snitch!" Lee shouts. "But of course the seeker's health comes first so everyone please keep your cheering down to the minimum." But everyone ignores him. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff erupt into cheers. I can see Draco throw his very expensive broom to the ground. The Slytherin captain Marcus Flint hits Draco over the head with his broom.

"Move, I'm going to go kill Flint," I say. Emma and Walter unwrap themselves from the sign I made and give it to me. I try my hardest not to fall down the soaking wet steps and I storm across the field to the Slytherin team. "Flint! How dare you hit him! With the same broom that his father bought you!"

Draco grabs my arm and tries to pull me away from Flint but I shove him off. "It was his first game. His first! And you go hit him with a broom! I swear to Merlin I'll break your knees with that broom of yours."

The voices behind us grow louder and louder. I turn around and watch as the groundskeeper Hagrid carries Harry off of the pitch. I whip back around to Marcus, my now soaking wet hair stuck to all parts of my face. "Touch my cousin again Flint, look at my cousin with anything but respect and I swear you'll regret your life," I scream.

Someone grabs my wand arm and pulls hard. "Don't Violet. You'll regret it." George says to me tugging on my arm a little harder.

"Yeah Violet, listen to your blood traitor," Marcus says coldly. A few of the other Slytherins on the team have come over to watch us, they laugh at Flint's comment.

I pull my arm out of Georges grasp and use it to punch Flint square in the nose. Hard. He stumbles back, blood rushing down his face. "Move your fucking hand Flint," I growl at him. He slowly moves his hand away from his face and I pull my wand out of my sweater sleeve and point it at him. "Episkey." Flints nose snaps back into place and Marcus yells out in pain.

The team stands there dumbfounded, staring at me. "Go get changed Draco, you look awful," I say before I take Georges hand and walk away from everyone.

Once we get out of the pitch and away from everyone I burst into tears. Heavy, ugly sobs rack my entire body. I fall to my knees and just break down completely. George gets down on his knees in front of me and just sits there in the rain with me. "I-I'm... sc-ar-e-d" I sob. George throws his arms around me and squeezes me to him tightly. I cry into his shoulder, as he strokes my wet hair with one of his hands.

"What's wrong?" George whispers to me softly.

I take a breath and explain everything that's been on my mind recently, from finding out about the chamber of secrets, to my worries about Draco and how he's been acting more and more like his father, to the warning that Dobby gave me during the summer before George came to pick me up, and lastly about how terrifying it is to be going against my families beliefs and Draco's worries about me being a blood traitor.

"Does that feel better?" George asks once I finish. I nod my head and my breathing goes back to normal. George pulls away from me and puts his hands on my shoulders. "We are too young to be thinking about these things? We're in fourth year, haven't even taken our OWLs yet okay? Let's just focus on school and our lives here for now yeah?"

I wipe my face from both tears and rainwater, "Thank you."

"Now let's get out of the mud, I'll go get changed out of my quidditch things, I'll walk you to your common room so you can get changed and we can go hide in some tower and we can listen to the rain and play gobstones." George stands up and helps me up as well. We've been in the rain for so long no one is in the changing room anymore. "Come in and get out of the rain," George says, holding the curtain open for me.

I step into the change room and I'm instantly transported back to last year where Oliver kicked me out for thinking I was a spy. George goes over to his bag and looks at me. "Turn around, no peaking." He says to me.

I turn to face the tent wall, I wrap myself in the makeshift sign I made for Draco and just stand there. Waiting. I can hear him rustling around behind me. I slowly turn my head and peek over my shoulder. George is now in his jeans, and doing up his belt... shirtless. I snap my head back around and I cover my face with my hands. I don't need a mirror to know that my face is bright red.

"Ready to go?" George comes over to me and pops open his umbrella.

"Yeah, let's get out of here."


	31. Part 2, Chapter 16

In the next two weeks, rumours are flying everywhere about everyone. Nearly all the Slytherins were talking about my not one, but meltdowns and threats against my housemates, but that wasn't as important as the young Gryffindor student Colin Creevey turning up in one of the corridors completely paralyzed, or the fact that when Lockhart tried to fix Potters arm he actually just removed all of his bones completely.

On my out of the dining hall from lunch, I see a small group of people huddled around some sign on the wall. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are apart of that group. "What are we looking at?" I say as I approach the group. Everyone but the three young Gryffindors leave quickly when they see me.

"They're starting a duelling club apparently. Not like you need any practice. George told us about your run-in with Marcus Flint." Ron says, he looks a little scared when he looks at me.

"speaking of, how's your arm, Harry? I heard Lockhart did a number to it."

Harry stretches his fingers out, "Its fine thanks."

There's an awkward silence that follows Harry's response. "Right then. I'll see you lot at the duelling club." I suck on my teeth and turn around, heading towards potions class.

"Wait, Violet!" A girls voice, clearly Hermione, calls out to me. "Is your cousin the Heir of Slytherin?"

I stop in my tracks and turn around slowly. "Sorry?"

Hermione steps away from the boys and shuffles towards me, "your house elf... Dobby... he came to visit Harry in the hospital wing two weeks ago. He said that the chambers were opened before." Hermione takes a deep breath before continuing. "We think it was your uncle who opened them first. And he's taught Draco how to do it."

I'm frozen in shock. "I- no. No one in my family, me, my cousin, my uncle, or anyone for that matter is the heir of Slytherin. And I would greatly appreciate it if you don't make those type of accusations against my family any more."

I turn back around and walk away as Hermione blurts out an apology. I don't make any stops till I reach the potions class in the dungeons. When I get inside I notice that the twins and Lee are already set up and talking to their bunkmate Kenneth and a Ravenclaw boy Roger Davies. "Your brother and his friends have taken it upon themselves to figure out who the heir of Slytherin is," I say walking up to the boy's table.

"And who does he think it is?" Fred asks. George looks at me concerned but he doesn't say anything.

"Funnily enough, he and his friends blamed Draco. Their theory is that my uncle opened it when he was here and that he has taught Draco how to do it this year. So that was a fun conversation."

George takes my hand and strokes it with his thumb in a comforting manner. "Are you okay?"

I nod my head and smile at him. "I'm fine yeah. Just tired of it all. Are you lot going to the duelling club meeting tonight?"

"Definitely. I heard that Lockhart is teaching it, which means it's going to be absolutely horrible." Roger chimes in. "I wonder who's helping him teach it though."

"Imagine if its McGonagall," Kenneth says. We all laugh at the thought of watching McGonagall duel lousy Lockhart.

Emma, Adrien, and Walter come in the door and I excuse myself from the boys to go over to sit with them. Walter and I watch as Adrien kisses Emma's cheek. Clarissa shrieks from the other side of the room but when I look over at her she busies herself with her potion ingredients. Adrien goes over to sit with his other dormmates at the opposite table to us.

I pull out three galleons from my book bag and discreetly hand them to Walter for winning the bet we had when it came to Emma and Adrien.

"Isn't he just the sweetest? When he walked me here he carries all my books and everything!" Emma sighs. She pulls a stool out from under the table and plops herself on top of it, leaning her head in her hands.

"Not to dampen your mood or anything, but you two skipped lunch and just stayed in the common room. Which is about a thirty-second walk away from this classroom." Walter points out. "Not very impressive." I choke on air and try to turn my laugh into a cough.

"It's the principle of the thing, Wally! He did it cause he's a kind heart." Emma watches him joke around with his friends. By the looks of things, he's anything but kind given he just stuck one of his friends with a porcupine needle.

"I dunno how you bunk with them, Wally. They're idiots." I say. Snape comes out from the storage room and the class quiets down.

"I dunno how you bunk with Clarissa, especially after what happened between you two," Walter whispers. Snape turns around and glares at him and Walter shrinks his large frame down as small as it can go.

"Due to recent events... you all must brew the skele-grow potion. You have till the end of the class... three hours starting now." Snape says, his tone rather sarcastic.

"If he wasn't so mean all the time, Snape would be really funny. I mean having us brew skele-grow right after his lead favourite professor messes up a students arm? I have to hand it to him." George says to me when we are both in the storage room looking for Chinese chomping cabbage, pufferfish, and scarab beetles.

"He sure does have a twisted sense of humour I'll give him that." I pull down a jar of pufferfish and carefully pull out six. Three for me and three for George.

"Sounds like another Slytherin I know. Look here..." George says, he grabs the box of cabbage from the top shelf and pulls two out, I add it to our bowls we have set aside for our ingredients.

"Oi, what's that supposed to mean? You think I have a twisted sense of humour?" I stop looking for the scarab beetles and look at George head-on.

"I fully watched you break someone's nose and then immediately fix it for them. So yes, I'd say you have a twisted sense of humour." George steps over to one of the back shelves and grabs the jar of beetles off the middle shelf. "I mean it in the best way possible though." He says kissing me on the forehead.

"mmhmm sure, you did." I leave the storage room and close the door behind me. Cedric and another student go in to grab their materials. I go over to the table that we have our ingredient bowls set up, "Count out ten, we need five each." I say to George.

He opens the jar and gulps. The worst thing about this potion is that every ingredient has to be alive when we make it. George sticks his hand into the large jar of beetles and pulls out a handful. He quickly counts out what we both need and shoves the rest back in the jar and closes it tightly. "Whichever one of us brews the best potion owes the other a sickle. Deal?" George says to me, picking up the ingredient bowls and passing one to me.

"You're on Weasley."

When the three hours are up, Snape gives us each a toad that he has magic'd all the bones out of. If our potion cures them then we get five house points. If it kills the toad, we lose five points. Thankfully, Walter, Emma, and I all cure our toads. Cedric is the only Hufflepuff to do it, all the Ravenclaws manage it as well. Clarissa half succeeded, where bones started to form on the outside of the toad, (Snape gave her two points for this), but no other Slytherin student manages to get it right, not even Adrien much to Emma's shock.

Fred and Lee manage to pull it off, but George fails miserably, his toad exploding as soon as it makes contact with his potion. Kenneth also fails but not as dramatically as George did.

"And for homework... I need you all to write a two-foot long composition on the effects of using magic you are not properly trained on. It has to be on my desk at the start of next class... no excuses." Snape says, looking at each and every one of us in the room.

"But sir! Next class is on Friday! You really expect us to write two feet of parchment in four days?" Graham Montague, a Slytherin boy moans.

Snape turns to him and smiles, something that's almost as terrifying as his scowl. "Good point Mister Montague. Make it three and a half feet of parchment. Not an inch more, not an inch less... both grades and house points will be taken away if your composition doesn't meet the criteria exactly. Class dismissed."

"Good job Graham." I hear Henrietta moan. Writing compositions have never been her strong suit, especially ones that are longer than a foot long.

"Pay up ickle Georgie kins." I go up to George and put my hand out. He reaches into his trouser pocket and pulls out a sickle and puts it in my hand.

"I have to run to magical theory. I'll see you at dueling club." George pecks my cheek before dashing off with Fred and Lee to their next class.

"We all have a free period now don't we?" Walter says to us all when I return to the group. "How about we go to the library and get a head start on this composition." I agree and shove all my things in my bookbag and put my cauldron back into the cubby on the wall with my name written underneath it.

"Oi Emma, you coming?" I spin around the classroom but Emma has long disappeared. "Guess not then."

"I find it hilarious that Snape's making us write a composition that has nothing to do with potions just because Lockhart messed up." Walter says when we get to the library. He sits down and measures out his parchment and dips his quill in his inkpot.

"I wonder if we even need to research for it. Like could we just write whatever we want or do we actually need to tell him where we get the information." I pull my supplies out and sigh. "What book do we even look in to find that kind of information."

"Just write about what happened at quidditch, write Lockhart down as your source."

I roll my eyes and swat Walter's arm, "I'm going to go see if I can find a copy of Extreme Incantations by Violeta Stitch." I get up from my chair and walk down the aisle.

"Course you would know the exact book title and who wrote it off the top of your head."


	32. Part 2, Chapter 17

At around eight o'clock that night, the entire Slytherin house myself included made our way to the great hall for the duelling club meeting.

"Looks like the entire school's here," Walter says to me when we get into the hall. All the benches and tables have been moved to the side besides two long ones that have been set up in the centre of the room with a small set of stairs on either end.

"Hi guys, how are you?" I say as Walter and I approach the twins and Lee. Emma has opted to stay with Adrien during the meeting, they've been inseparable ever since they got back together.

"Pretty fantastic honestly, I can't wait to watch Lockhart get absolutely destroyed by McGonagall." Fred jokes.

George mumbles a "hey love." And pecks my cheek.

"Gather around! Gather around! Can everyone see me? Can everyone hear me? Excellent!" Lockhart says walking up onto the tables he's organized.

"No fookin way." Lee whispers.

"Bloody hell," I say. Snape walks up onto the tables following Lockhart.

"This is so much better than McGonagall," Fred exclaims.

We all watch with wide eyes and huge smiles on our faces. "Now! Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little Dueling club, to train you all up in case you ever need to defend yourself as I myself has done on countless occasions."

"Yeah, that's likely." George mummers causing us and the surrounding students to laugh slightly.

"For full details, see my published works!" Lockhart continues ignoring the snickering coming from a few less than interested students. "Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape!" The entire room breaks into very loud cheers and clapping. Snape looks very annoyed and very uncomfortable with the whole situation. "He tells me that he knows a tiny little bit about duelling himself and has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin."

"tiny little bit about duelling" Fred mimics.

"Snape's going to flatten him," I say, looking at Snape's very angry looking face.

"Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry- you'll still have your Potions master when I'm through with him never fear!"

Snapes lip curls which only makes me laugh. "If only I had a camera right now," Walter says nudging Lee in the side.

We watch in awe as Lockhart and Snape move to opposite sides of the makeshift stage and face each other. Lockhart bows, tossing his plum-coloured robes behind him very dramatically. Snape on the other hand just juts his head forward very stiffly. They each raise their wands out in front of themselves.

Fred can't contain his excitement, his smile is spread ear to ear as he turns his head from Snape to Lockhart waiting for the first move.

"As you can see, we are holding our wands at the acceptable combative position. On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill of course." Lockhart says to the patiently waiting crowd.

"That's likely," George whispers.

"One- two- three!" Lockhart shouts. George, Fred, and some of the other students cheer loudly.

The two teachers raise their wands up over their shoulders. "Expelliarmus!" Snape cries a flash of red light dances from his wand and Lockhart was practically thrown halfway down the table, landing with a loud thud. The entire room breaks into applause besides a few witches who are clearly worried for Lockhart's wellbeing.

"That was fantastic professor!" Lee calls out. Walter laughs far too loud at Lees comment.

Lockhart stands up, his hat has been knocked off his head and his hair is in disarray. "Well, there you have it!" Lockhart stays taking a few steps forward. He pats himself down and straightens his posture. "That was a disarming charm- as you can see I've lost my wand..." Lockhart looks around and s student passes it to him from the crowd. "Ah, thank you, Miss Brown. Yes, an excellent idea to show them that professor Snape, but if you don't mind my saying so, it was very obvious what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you it would have been only too easy. However, I felt it would be instructive to let them see..."

"Look at Snape's face! I can't do this it's too much!" Fred howls with laughter.

"Enough demonstrating! I'm going to come amongst you and put you all in pairs. Professor Snape if you'll like to help me..." Snape and Lockhart make their way through the crowds pairing everyone off.

Snape comes over to us and scowls, "Miss LeStrange... and Mister... Weasley, Mister Clarence, and Mister Jordan, and the other Mister Weasley... and, Mister Diggory! Come over here." Snape shouts.

Cedric excuses himself from his group and makes his way over to us. "Great, pretty boy Diggory. Just what I needed." Fred groans.

Snape looks at him, "You will be working with Miss LeStrange. The other one will be working with Mister Diggory." Snape moves onto the next group of people he needs to pair off.

George kisses my temple and walks off with Cedric. "I'll go easy on you Violet. Lord knows George would kick my ass into next Tuesday if I hurt you." Fred says to me. Walter and Lee walk off into their own little area.

"Gee thanks, Freddie. Really appreciate it." I say sarcastically.

Lockhart steps back up onto the table and clears his throat to silence the room. "Face your partners! And bow!"

I turn and look at Fred and bow as low as I possibly can and as flamboyant as I can muster and Fred does the same thing to me, laughing the entire time.

"Wands at the ready! When I count to three, cast your charms to disarm your opponent, only to disarm them! We don't want any accidents!" Lockhart shouts cheerily.

"Sorry in advance Vi, no hard feelings," Fred says smirking at me.

"Oh course not, I hope you don't hit your head when you fall," I say back to him

"One, two, three!"

I whip my wand above my head and shout "Expelliarmus!" bright red light shoots from my wand and hits Fred square in the chest. He flies backwards and lands on his butt halfway across the room. The kids around us cheer, George goes over to help his brother off the ground laughing the entire time.

"I said disarm only!" Lockhart shrieks. We all turn around and look at who he's yelling at. Of course its Draco and Harry Potter. Who else would it have been. Looking around the room, all the first and second years are a total mess. There's a hazy green fog everywhere, singed faces, and Hermione looks to be in a fistfight with Draco's friend Millicent Bulstrode.

"Stop! Stop! All of you STOP!" Lockhart screams.

Snape stands on the stage and points his wand at Draco and Harry. "Finite Incantanem!" He roars, the whole room quiets down looking at a very unhappy Snape.

"I think I'd better teach you how to block unfriendly spells," Lockhart says, looking flustered in the middle of the mess he's created. He turns and looks at Snape, a bad idea in my opinion because Snape looks like he's ready to kill.

George helps Fred back over to me. "Sorry ickle Freddie," I say when he approaches.

Fred puts his hand on my shoulder, "Don't even worry about it, Violet." He winces and puts his hand back on his ribs.

"Let's have a volunteer pair- Longbottom and Finch-Fletchley, how about you two?" Lockhart says gesturing to the two boys.

"Bad idea professor Lockhart." Snape glides over to Lockhart and stands beside him. "Longbottom causes devastation with the simplest spells. We'll be sending what's left of Finch-Fletchley up to the hospital wing in a matchbox."

Fred laughs but tries to cover it up with a cough. "How about Malfoy and Potter?"

"Oh god," I say under my breath, but of course, Lockhart thinks it's a fantastic idea. Draco and Harry step onto the makeshift stage.

Draco goes over to snape who whispers something into his ear. Harry goes over to Lockhart who does the same thing. Everyone else gathers on both sides of the tables to get a better look at what's about to happen. "This isn't going to end well I can sense it," I whisper to George. He gives me a one-armed hug and keeps his arm around me.

They walk towards each other and shake hands in the middle of the table, then they walk backwards a few steps.

"On my mark! Three... Two... One!" Lockhart shouts.

Draco points his wand at Harry, "Serpensortia!" Draco screams. A long, black snake shoots out of Dracos wand and lands heavily on the table. It moves closer to Harry and raises itself ready to strike. Some kids scream, the Slytherins clap enthusiastically.

"Don't move Potter." Snape says lazily, He pulls out his wand and points it at the snake, "I'll get rid of it."

Lockhart steps forward instead, "Let me!" He zaps the snake, doing nothing but anger it more. The snake, now losing interest in Harry, has turned its attention towards a hopeless Hufflepuff.

Suddenly, Harry steps forward, hissing at the snake.

"You've got to be bloody joking. Harry Potter is a Parslemouth?" Walter says quietly. We all watch in both horror and interest. Harry steps towards the snake, almost like he's daring it to attack.

"What is even going on?" Lee whispers. I put my hand over his mouth to shut him up.

The Hufflepuff steps back from the table in fear and rushes out of the hall. Snape steps forward, putting himself between the snake and Draco that I am very thankful for. He waves his wand and the snake disappears in a cloud of grey smoke. The room is so silent you can hear a pin drop.

Ron steps up and drags Harry off of the tables and out of the hall. Lockhart looks at us all. "Thank you for coming to our first meeting! It's not nine o'clock so please make your way back to your common rooms in time for curfew!" He waves his hands and the crowd disperses.

"Better be off then. I'll see you tomorrow." George says to me kissing me quickly.

"Let me know what you find out about what just happened please okay?" I say before he runs off with Fred and Lee.

"Course I will." He winks at me and together, the three run off. Leaving Walter and me alone together.

"Can I talk to you before we go back to the common room?" Walter asks me. I look at him and I can see something is seriously bothering him.

"Yeah, course you can. Let's go find an empty classroom so we can talk." We follow a bunch of students out of the hall and find an empty classroom to sneak into. I close the door behind us and he sits down at one of the desks.

"I'mgay." He says super fast.

I sit down beside him. "Sorry, I didn't catch that."

Walter takes a deep breath and I notice that he's shaking slightly. "I- I'm gay." He buries his head in his hands.

"Okay. Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me."

Walter lifts his head up. "That's- that's it?"

I shrug my shoulders, "Yeah I mean. You're my friend and I support you no matter what you do." I shove him with my shoulder slightly, "or who you do for that matter."

Walter smiles, clearly relieved. "You're an idiot." Walter leans his head on my shoulder. "I'm so glad you're my friend you know that."

"I mean if we are all being open and things, I'm pretty sure I'm bisexual."

Walter takes his head off my shoulder and looks at me. "Just going to hop onto my coming out story are you?" He jokes.

"I hate you so much."


	33. Part 2, Chapter 18

The snow outside started to get bad, so bad that our care of magical creatures class was cancelled for the foreseeable future. Which just means we all have more time to bum around the halls. Emma and Adrien have officially broken up after Emma found him kissing Clarissa in the fifth-floor corridor. Now she's refused to do any homework or go to any classes because it's 'just so hard'.

Walter and I promised each other that neither of us will tell anyone about what we told each other, which I'm very thankful for. I haven't had that conversation with George yet. I know he won't care, won't even blink an eye, but it's still nerve-wracking.

"ATTACK! ATTACK! ANOTHER ATTACK! NO MORTAL OR GHOST IS SAFE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! ATAAAAACK!" Peeves screams shooting through the fourth floor. Walter and I, who have been walking aimlessly for the past hour look at each other before running to where ever Peeves rushed off to.

Classroom doors burst open, students and teachers alike flow out of the classrooms and race down the corridor in the same direction we are running in. It didn't take long to reach. A student is lying on the floor completely immobile, beside him a few feet away another figure can be seen.

"That's the Gryffindor ghost! Nearly Headless Nick I think his name is!" Walter mumbles to me. The ghost is lying horizontal, completely unmoving. Instead of pearly and see-through, he looks black and smokey. Something I don't think any of the students gathered around have seen before.

McGonagall pushes herself through the crowd and sets off a big bang with her wand. "Everyone go back to your classrooms this instant!" The crowd quickly disperses. Walter looks at me and shrugs his shoulders. We stay put and watch as McGonagall approaches the scene carefully.

Teachers come from all over, they push past Walter and I and go help, McGonagall. A student in Hufflepuff robes comes sprinting out of a side corridor, "Caught in the act!" They shriek and shove a finger towards Harry Potter, who I didn't realize was even here till that moment. Harry and I make eye contact and I can tell he's just as scared and confused as everyone else is.

Peeves circles above the professor's heads. "oh Potter you rotter, oh what have you done? You're killing off students, you think it's good fun-" Peeves sings. Harry looks like he might cry.

"That's enough Peeves!" McGonagall roars. Peeves shoots away but not before he sticks his tongue out at Harry. "Professor Flitwick, Professor Sinistra take Justin Finch-Fletchley to the hospital wing." McGonagall stands and the two professors rush in and pick the boy up and carry him off.

"What do we do with nearly headless Nick?" Professor Burbage, the muggle studies professor asks looking down at the ghost.

They discuss for a moment before McGonagall waves her wand and conjures up a fan out of thin air, which she gives to the Hufflepuff student with strict orders to waft the ghost up the stairs.

"This way Potter." She gestures for Harry to follow her after watching the Hufflepuff turn the corner to the stairwell.

Harry jogs up to keep up with her pace, "Professor, I swear- I didn't..." He says as they pass us. McGonagall was too far past for us to hear what she says back to him clearly but it can't be good.

Once we are sure we are alone Walter looks at me, "What the fookin hell is going on?"

I blow air out of my nose hard and shake my head, "Whatever it is, we should really tell everyone else."

Walter and I practically run back to the common room and throw open the door. We explain what we saw to everyone there, even the portraits listen to what we have to say. Those people tell their friends, who tell their friends, and you get the idea.

The news of the new attack spreads like wildfire throughout the castle. By the time the forms to leave for Christmas started popping up over the castle, everyone rushed to sign up. Everyone but Draco and I. Aunt Narcissa and Uncle Lucius wrote to us at the beginning of December stating that they have to do something rather serious over the break and they needed us to stay at school. They did write promises that our presents will be sent to Hogwarts which did lighten Draco's mood slightly.

"Crabbe and Goyle are staying for the holidays too Violet! They didn't want me to be alone during this trying time!" Draco says to me as we walk towards the hall for dinner.

"Wally is staying as well. So are the Weasleys... I think Harry Potter is staying as well."

Draco scrunches up his face in disgust, "Ugh Potter and his perfect friends. Father will hear about this. Making me stay here with the likes of them all holiday."

We are interrupted by yelling coming from the great staircase. "Make way for the Heir of Slytherin! Seriously evil wizard coming through!" George calls from the top of the stairs. Draco and I look up and watch them come down the stairs very dramatically, Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and Percy follow behind them.

Percy must have said something that we can't hear because Fred shouts, "Out of the way Percy! Harry's in a hurry can't you tell!"

"Yeah, he's nipping off to the chamber of secrets for a cup of tea with his fanged servant!" George hollers.

I look beside me to see Draco's reaction to all this but he's disappeared. So when the group hits the main floor I run over to them, holding my wand like the microphone Lee uses at quidditch games. "Potter! Mister Potter! Violet LeStrange for the Daily Prophet! Please Mister Potter, when are you planning your next attack, and who is the special someone?" I put my wand under his chin like I'm waiting for his response.

George, Fred, and Ron howl with laughter, even Harry cracks a smile. "Don't encourage them!" Ginny wails from the back of the group.

"This is not a laughing matter! People are seriously injured!" Percy says as sternly as he possibly can.

I take my wand from Harry and bring it back close to my mouth. "Percy Weasley, care to comment on the victim's behalf? Inside sources tell me that you visit them every night and sing them lullabies!" I put my wand under Percy's chin and look at him with wide eyes.

Everyone laughs at that, besides Percy of course who just swats my wand out of his face and storms off towards the great hall. I tuck my wand into my robe and ruffle Harry's already messy hair with my hand. "I'm only joking. You know that right?"

With a big smile on his face Harry responds, "Yeah, it makes me feel loads better actually." Hermione grabs both Harry and Rons hands and pulls them away from us.

"If you ever start working at the Daily Prophet that has to be your first edit," Fred says, still sort of laughing at my joke.

"You're all idiots!" Ginny squeals. "This is serious!" She pushes past her older brothers and chases after Harry and the others.

"Ya know, every day she sounds more and more like mum," George says, watching his little sister go into the great hall. "Kind of terrifying really."

I link arms with both Fred and George, with me in the middle of the chain and we all skip to the dining hall, making complete fools of ourselves.

"Alright. I'll see you lot tomorrow, once everyone's gone out of the castle." I say, Fred, kisses my cheek goodbye and goes over to the Gryffindor table where he's met with a lot of "Hey Weasley" from all of the students.

"D'you want to sneak out tonight? The snow is beautiful in the moonlight." George whispers in my ear to make sure no one around hears.

"Snow is also a great way to leave footprints." I whisper back to him, "Better not risk it, there is a very evil second-year wizard lurking about these days."

George raises his eyebrow, "What does your cousin have to do with any of this?" My eyes go wide and I scoff, minorly offended. I hit his arm, "Only joking, no need to get violent Violet."

I roll my eyes and kiss his lips gently. "I'll see you tomorrow," I whisper to him.

George looks at me in the eyes and rubs his thumb along my jawbone, "You know..." he says very soft and lovingly, "if you keep rolling your eyes as much as you do, they're going to get stuck like that."

"God you really know how to ruin a moment don't you Weasley." I walk away from him, towards Emma and Walter who are already filling their plates with food.

"I'm just worried about your eye health!" George calls out after me. I turn around and give him the wanker sign before turning back around and meeting with my friends.

"Violet, please tell Emma that just because Adrien is now dating Clarissa does not mean that she should give up being a vegetarian," Walter says, jutting his chin out at Emma's plate that's stacked high with ribs and chicken legs.

"It doesn't even matter anymore! My whole life is over!" She wails and picks up a rib. She waves it around, resulting in stray drops of sauce hitting a seventh-year student sitting nearby right on the cheek. "Sorry, I'm just going through a lot." She says to the seventh year.

"If it's not making you happy then don't do it. Eat all the meat you want Em, I'm not going to stop you." I squeeze into the spot beside Wally and peck him on the cheek as a greeting. "I'll just sit here and stare at you the entire time you eat it."

Emma looks at me, then back at her plate, "Fuck Adrien." She says loudly before sinking her teeth into the rib she's been waving around the same way Lockhart uses his wand. I cheer and hit the table, Walter joins in. You have to love mob mentality because it doesn't take long for more than half of the Slytherin table to start banging their fists on the table chanting "Eat meat!" a million times over.

When dinner is over and all the plates have been cleared away we make our way back to the common room. Walter says he wants to get an early night and heads off to bed so I decide to help Emma pack what she needs for winter break.

"Oh, before I forget. Let me get your Christmas present." I say when Emma and I are in our dorm. I go over and rummage through my trunk before finding a small-ish bloc wrapped in soft satin fabric. I hop onto her bed and sit on it cross-legged. I hand her the box with both hands.

"Wait let me get yours." She crawls (literally) on all fours back over to her trunk and pulls out a perfectly wrapped green box with a silver bow on top. She comes back and sits on her bed facing me. We exchange gifts and rip into them.

I open my box and gasp. Inside is a forest green felt beret. "Emma this is stunning!" I pull it out and put it on my head.

"I just knew it would make a stunning contrast with your hair! I'm so glad you like it! I got it from an adorable shop in France over the summer, so no one should have the same one!" Emma pulls the present I got her out of the box. She pulls out a pair of white lace gloves and immediately puts them on. They change to a pink colour and she gasps.

"I saw an ad for them in the daily prophet last time we went on the Hogsmeade trip! I wrote to my aunt as soon as I could so she could get a pair, they came just in time. They change colour based on your mood. There should be a piece of parchment with them that tell you what each colour means."

Emma throws her arms around me in a hug. "They're beautiful! I'll never ever take them off!"

For the rest of the night, Emma and I stay in our dorm, much to our dormmates annoyance. We turn on the radio and dance in our pyjamas and eat all the leftover candy we have from the Hogsmeade trip a few weekends ago.

Finally, at about midnight, Emma and I collapse from exhaustion and fall asleep almost instantly, me with my new hat on, and Emma still wearing her gloves. The past two Christmas's have taught me that being around your blood family isn't always the best. Even in this one night dancing with Emma, I've had more fun than the Christmas's as a child. Stuck in an itchy dress surrounded by a bunch of very rude aunts and uncles who criticize you for not sitting up straight, or for making their tea wrong.


	34. Part 2, Chapter 19

By the time I wake up the next day, my entire dorm room is cleared out of everything that doesn't belong to me. I pick up my robe that's hanging on one of my bed posters and wrap it around me, put my new hat in my trunk, and walk barefoot out of my dorm and into the common room. Walter and Draco are having a heated conversation in the middle of the room as Crabbe and Goyle sit by watching the whole thing go down.

"Its far too early to be talking about quidditch this aggressively." I yawn into my hand and sit down on a big chair nearby. I bring my knees up to my chin and look over at Draco. My cat Fergus comes over beside me and I unfold my legs so he can sit in my lap.

"It's nearly noon Vi. We didn't know if we should wake you or not. Emma said not to when she left but that was a long time ago." Draco says to me.

I yawn again and pull the hood of my robe up. "I'm going to go for a walk. Wally, care to join me?"

Draco rolls his eyes, "Violet I'm nearly thirteen, I know what taking a walk means." Draco says matter of factly.

"Draco your birthday is in June, you've just turned twelve." I stand up, holding Fergus to my chest. Walter follows suit. "Stay out of trouble you three. I'd rather you not completely ruin my Christmas holiday." I look from Draco to his friends Crabbe and Goyle before I pad my way over to the door and walk out of the common room with Walter.

"Where are we even going? Why are you bringing your cat?" Walter says to me. "Violet you're not even wearing shoes!"

"That's because we aren't going outside. I don't see a point in wearing shoes if you're not outside."

I walk out of the dungeons and towards the grand staircase, my robe wrapped tightly around my waist, Fergus pressed tightly to my chest "You really have to start trusting me, Wally. Have I ever lead you in the wrong direction?"

"There was that one time in first year when you swore up, down, and sideways that you knew how to get to transfiguration class. We got stuck on the staircase for at least an hour." Walter says. We start walking up the stairs.

"Okay, but recently. Have I ever gotten you in trouble?" I look at Walter as we wait for the second-floor staircase to come back around. He doesn't say anything, "What I thought." We manage to climb up all the way to the seventh floor and reach the Fat Lady portrait that conceals the Gryffindor common room.

The Fat Lady looks Walter and I up and down, finally she says. "Password?"

"Where are you taking me?" Walter whispers.

"Wattlebird," I say to the Fat Lady. Her portrait swings off the wall to expose a rounded hole in the wall. Instantly the smell of cinnamon and burning wood fills my nose. "Come on Wally hurry up." I grab his hand and pull him into the room. A firework zips past my ear and explodes behind me when Walter and I fully get into the room.

"The Gryffindor common room? You've got to be barking mad." Walter says looking around the circular room.

George and Fred come racing down the stairs that lead to the boy's dorms. The same dorms I stayed in last Christmas. "Did it work? Did the firework go out or did it explode and keep going?" Fred says out of breath.

"It died as soon as it exploded," Walter says kicking the firework shell on the ground.

"Bloody hell!" Fred cries out angrily. He storms over and grabs the shell off the ground. "Nice to see you both. Walter welcome to our common room." Fred says, he blows a stay hair off his forehead.

I put Fergus down on the floor, and watch him go curl up in front of the roaring fire pit. I make my way over to George and wrap myself around his torso. He wraps his arms around my neck and I can hear his heartbeat quicken a little.

"Get used to that. They'll be snogging constantly for the next two weeks. Happened last year." Fred says to Walter.

"That isn't true at all, don't listen to him," George says, his voice vibrating through his chest.

I let go of George and go sit cross-legged on the overstuffed red couch. "Do we have any plans for today?" I ask, looking at all the boys standing around the room awkwardly.

We decide to have a lazy day. Well as much of a lazy day you can have with the Weasleys. As soon as we start up a game of Exploding Snap, Ginny, Hermione, Ron, and Harry all come out of their dorms and join us in the common room. Ginny sits on the ground and uses a string off of her sweater to play with Fergus. About halfway through our game, however, Percy throws open the door to his dorm and looks over the balcony on his floor. "Will you please shut up!" He shouts down at us.

George and Fred look at each other, and in one swift movement, they both get up to their feet and scramble up the stairs. Percy shrieks and slams his door closed again but anyone could tell you that a door won't stop the twins.

"Your cousin is here over the holidays right Violet?" Hermione asks me. There's a loud bang from above and a lot of yelling.

"Yeah, Crabbe and Goyle are here too. Just in case Draco needs them during 'this trying time in his life' whatever that means."

Hermione nods slowly, clearly thinking of something. There's another loud bang and Percy screams. He comes flying down the stairs with his hands covering his behind. "I'll write to mother! She'll have you kicked out of Hogwarts for good!" Percy yells at Fred and George.

"You'll write to mother!? Who even are you?" Fred says as he walks out of the staircase.

George comes down the stairs with Percy's prefect badge in his hands. "You know I think I might just keep it this year. I'll consider it my Christmas present."

Percy stomped his foot like a toddler having a tantrum, "You will not George Weasley! Give it back right this instant!"

"Merlin's beard, its like mother is in the room!" Ron says, joining in on the teasing of his brother.

George tosses Percy's prefects badge into the air, forcing Percy to stop covering his butt with his hands so he can catch his badge.

There's a massive hole in the back of Percy's trousers, most likely from one of Fred and George's fireworks. "Did mother send you those bright pink boxers?" Ron says. The whole room bursts into laughter.

Percy roars with anger and storms back up to his room. "Oh come on ickle Percy-kins! We are just having a little bit of fun." George calls after him. In response, Percy just slams the door.

"How rude," Fred says looking at us all.

The rest of the day was a lot calmer. We didn't see Percy again till it was time to head into the great hall for dinner.

"Draco! Why don't you and your friends come sit with us at the Gryffindor table so you aren't all alone." I say when I see my young cousin sitting with his two friends at the very large, very empty Slytherin table.

"I'd rather die than sit with a Weasley." Draco spits. "But I know you don't have any taste Violet so go sit with your... friends."

I put my palms on the top of the Slytherin table and lean into them. "Hows about we embrace some of the holiday cheer that's in the air right now and not bully anyone yeah?" I say quietly to him. He just huffs and does anything but look at me again.

I go over and sit with Walter and the Gryffindors for dinner. There's almost no other students sitting around the great hall. About three Hufflepuff and five Ravenclaw students are the only other ones still here.

"Hey, Violet. You've got something on your robe." George says to me after a while.

"Huh? What is it?" I pull my robe out and look down at it.

"Potatoes." George flicks his spoon full of mashed potatoes straight at me. They land in a heap on my robe and slowly fall off into my lap.

The whole Weasley group goes silent. Everyone watching in a different state of shock as I scoop the potatoes out of my lap and put them on the table. "Oh, so you want to play like that hmm?" I say to George, my head tilted to the side.

"Yeah. I want to play like... that." He flings corn kernels at me. A wicked smirk spread across his face.

"Grow up!" Percy hisses.

I pick up a gravy boat and pour some gravy onto the potatoes that are actually on my plate. "Listen to your brother Georgie. How about you grow..." I launch the contents of the gravy boat across the table at George. "...up."

George looks at me in shock, Ron and Harry snicker. "What's so funny boys?" George says. He grabs two handfuls of potatoes and throws them at Harry and Ron.

We all stop, look at each other for a beat...

WHAM! Ginny uses the big-serving spoon to launch peas at Fred. That does it for us all. We break out into a massive food fight. The Hufflepuff students clue into what's happening and run over to join us. Food is flying everywhere, but the more food we throw at each other the more food reappears on the serving plates. It's not long before the Ravenclaw students join in.

I turn around and look at Draco and his friends who are sitting horrified at the Slytherin table. "Violet no, don't you dare!" Draco squeals. But it's too late. I use the big-serving spoon to catapult a massive scoop of mashed potatoes right at him. Which hits him square in the chest. I burst into laughter. Crabbe and Goyle stand up in an act to defend Draco.

Surprisingly Draco comes over and joins in on the fight, laughing and screaming with the rest of us. Fred and George pour a whole bowl of roasted carrots over Percy's head, and like a Christmas miracle, Percy throws some food at them in retaliation.

Fred bewitches a spoon to constantly shovel out potatoes at people and the fight gets more intense. Until of course. The bewitched spoon gets knocked off course and a heap of potatoes lands right on

Dumbledores face.

We all stop what we are doing immediately, dripping in all sorts of different things. We watch in silent horror as Dumbledore wipes the potatoes off his face with a napkin. He sets the napkin down, picks up his spoon, carefully places peas onto his spoon, turns to McGonagall sitting on his left.

And in one swift motion, flicks the peas at her.

Now we really don't know what to do. Dumbledore stays looking at McGonagall, McGonagall stays looking straight ahead, a stray pea falls off the brim of her witch hat.

"Headmaster I..." McGonagall starts but she's interrupted by yet another spoonful of peas from Dumbledore.

What we weren't expecting was to see McGonagall launch her own spoon full of peas back at Dumbledore. But when this happened there was no stopping Fred and George.

"FOOD FIGHT!" Fred screams and we all start throwing things at each other again. Even the teachers (well all besides Snape of course) join in on the utter foolishness that George and I started.

It goes on for about an hour before Dumbledore waves his wand and the food disappears from around us. "Everyone go clean up now, please! I'll have the house elves bring you tea and desserts to your common rooms." Dumbledore announces.

Professor Sprout is wiping gravy off her face and laughing at something Madam Pomfrey has said as we all leave the dining hall and make our way to our respective common rooms.

"Our Headmaster! Dumbledore himself joined in a food fight!" Ron says completely mind blown. 

"Bun that, Professor McGonagall joined in on a food fight!" Walter points out. We all start laughing.

The group of Hufflepuff students thank us for the most exciting dinner they've had, and without giving us their names they head off to wherever their common room is.

"Bloody fantastic you guys. I needed that." One of the Ravenclaw students says to us before ushering their friends away.

"Alright lads, let's go get changed into clothes that don't stick to us. Vi, Wally, meet us back..." Fred looks at Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle who aren't too far away from us, "back at our meeting spot when you're ready?"

The Slytherins and the Gryffindors set off to their rightful common rooms. "Did you see Potters face when I got him with that pitcher of pumpkin juice!" Draco says on our way into the dungeons.

"No, I was to busy peeling a slice of ham off of my face," Crabbe says back to him.

Draco opens the door for us all and him and his friends scamper off to get changed and do whatever it is that twelve-year-old boys do. Walter goes into his room and I go into mine. Not wanting to get properly dressed, I put on a different pair of black silk pyjama pants and the jumper Molly made me. I take out the bottle of fire whiskey I stole from my aunt and uncles liquor cabinet in my waistband and leave my dorm, closing the door behind me. Walter meets me by the door and we make our way back up the long staircase to the Gryffindor room.


	35. Part 2, Chapter 20

"You people are not drinking! You're underage!" Percy storms into the room when he hears that Walter and I have brought alcohol.

"You could go for a drink. Loosen up a bit." Fred says, grabbing the bottle of fire whiskey from me and popping the top off.

"Ooh, can I have some?" Ron jumps over the back of the couch and comes over to his brother.

"No!" Everyone in the room says in unison.

Walter takes a clear bottle out from where ever he was hiding it and puts it on the coffee table with all the desserts that Dumbledore sent to us. "What's this?" George picks up the bottle and reads it out loud "Smirnoff Vodka?"

"Yeah, it's a muggle drink. You have to mix it with something though or else it tastes awful." Walter pours a cup of pumpkin juice, and snags the bottle of Smirnoff vodka away from George and pours some of it in the same cup.

That starts our night. We drink both bottles dry between the four of us. Ginny gets annoyed with us and goes up into the girl's dorm with Hermione. Harry and Ron stay down in the common room with us. Watching as we try to play wizard chess drunk.

"Alright, Violet and I should head back to our dorms. We'll see you lot tomorrow." Walter stands up and helps me to my feet.

"Bye boys!" I say cheerily. Fred stands up to give me a hug. George stands and kisses me before Walter and I walk out of the common room. Because there's no curfew in place during the holidays Walter and I are free to walk as slow as we please.

"Hogwarts Hogwarts Hoggy Hoggy Hogwarts Teach us something PLEASE!" Walter sings.

"Whether we be old and bald or young with scabby knees!" I continue the school's song as we skip through the corridor.

"What does that line even mean, I mean seriously?" Walter says. I open the common room door and we walk in together.

"That's the line you have problems with? What about for now they're bare and full of air. Dead flies and bits of fluff."

"Do you think I can stay in Emma's bed for the holidays? I hate being alone at night." Walter asks.

"Course you can. Come on."

The days leading up to Christmas day were some of the best I've ever had. Walter and I spent the majority of our time with the Weasleys but we also hung around with Draco and his friends as well. Without the pressure of school, his classmates, or his parents, Draco loosened up a lot and started acting like he did when we were children.

On Christmas day Draco comes bursting into my room, his hands full of all the presents his parents have sent. "Violet! Violet wake up! Let's open our presents together." Groaning, I roll out of bed and sit on the floor with him. Walter wakes up and shuffles over to his presents.

I open all the presents that Uncle Lucius and Aunt Narcissa sent me. Which included two new pairs of trousers, a few blouses, a new black belt, cat toys for Fergus, more parchment, a batch of cookies made by Dobby our house elf. That and a bunch of sweets from Honeydukes and a note apologizing for not being around at Christmas.

"Here Draco, I have a present for you too." I reach over and pull out Draco's present from my trunk and pass it to him.

He rips open the wrapper and pulls out Quidditch Through the Ages. "Thanks, Violet! I've wanted this book for a while!" He flips through the pages stopping at a few to read them more carefully.

"Walter I got you a present too!" I hand Walter a small bag and he pulls out the eagle feather quill I got for him.

Draco runs off to have a snowball fight with his friends. I grab the presents I got for the boys and Wally and I head out to the Gryffindor common room.

"Happy Christmas everyone!" Walter and I both shout when we get into the room. Doors swing open through the tower and all the Weasleys stick their heads out of their rooms.

Everyone comes down the stairs and give Walter and I a big hug. I hand out the presents I have for them all. "Saved the best one for last. Happy Christmas Georgie." I hand him the present I got for him and he smiles big.

"Yours is up in my room. I'll get it in a minute." He opens the present I got him. "the Beaters Bible! Thanks, darling." He kisses me in thanks.

"It's a custom edition. Flip through the last chapter." I smile at him waiting for his reaction.

George scrunches his eyebrows in confusion but does as I say, "Famous beaters through history?" He asks. I nod eagerly and watch as he flips through it a bit. "You fuckin didn't" He whispers.

"What didn't she do?" Ron asks, getting invested in our conversation. His voice is jumbled, the chewing gum I got him sticking to his teeth.

"Famous Beaters through history. George Weasley." He reads off the page. "George Weasley is a fourth-year student attending Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. He is one of the most talented Beaters on the Gryffindor team, his twin brother Fred follows close second." He looks around the room in shock. "She's added a whole three pages with stats and everything about me in here!"

"Blimey, Violet how'd you manage that?" Fred exclaims, he snatched the book out of his brother's hands and reads through it.

"It pays to be related to Lucius Malfoy," I say.

George kisses me hard, "That's the best present I've gotten in my whole life." He mumbles against my lips.

"One day it'll be in all the books. I can feel it." I say back to him.

"Here Violet, mum made you a sweater this year too," Ginny says, pulling my attention away from George. She gives me a poorly wrapped package and I sit on the couch beside Wally before I open it.

"I love your mum so much." I pull the sweater out of the wrapping and a little note falls into my lap.

Dear Violet,

I hope you have been having a fantastic year so far. The kids have been keeping me updated about the chamber of secrets business, it sounds terrifying. I hope that you stay safe during this trying time. Feel free to come back this summer, I would love to see you again! Have a happy Christmas and thank you for making sure my boys stay in line.

Love from Molly.

"Uhm, Harry, Ron, we should probably get going now." Hermione squeaks from the side of the room.

"Where are you three sneaking off to?" Walter pries.

"Oh um we um... have to go to the library..?" She says like she's asking Walter for reassurance. Harry, Ron, and Hermione wave goodbye before heading out the door off to the ahem... library.

George turns on the radio and quiet Christmas music fills the room. I lean my head on Walter's shoulder and just sit looking at the fire. Happy. Peaceful. With my family.

Fred and George spend the entire day trying to make Percy's prefect badge change to say 'pinhead' and by dinner time they finally manage to do it. Ron and his friends have been gone nearly all day, and only Ron and Harry come for dinner.

"And Hermione is...?" Percy says, shoving his nose into his youngest brothers business.

"Um. The hospital wing. Something happened." Harry says shortly.

Dinner was fantastic. The dining hall is full of twelve Christmas trees, garland everywhere, and a feast on each table. "Wow Percy, I wish I could have a badge like that someday." I joke. Percy's new 'pinhead' badge is pinned to his sweater on full display.

"Well, Violet. It takes a lot of hard work to earn a badge like this. You might want to consider finding better people to associate yourself with." Percy sort of shimmies his shoulders and straightens his posture all at the same time.

"Read what it says out loud for us Perc?" Fred says casually. He reaches for a platter of turkey and looks at Percy's annoyed face. "Humor us for a second."

Percy rolls his eyes and takes the pin off his sweater. "It says Pinhead." Everyone waits for him to realize what he just said with anticipation. Percy stops, blinks a couple times, and reads it again, "Pinhead..." Ginny and I start giggling as we watch Percy try to figure things out. "I'll kill you both."

"Careful, I don't think you want mother to hear you speak like that," Fred says. Percy jumps up from his seat. Fred and George do the same. Percy lunges across the table but Fred dodges him. "Oh, would you look at the time. George, we better head out." Together they sprint out of the dining hall with Percy chasing them.


	36. Part 2, Chapter 21

The next month or so flew by quickly. Finally, nothing too out of the ordinary happened. Professors were piling homework on like it was life or death, meaning no one had time to do much of anything other than write compositions, study for tests, and perfect spells and potions.

"Tell me why I ever thought that taking ancient ruins was a good idea," I say slamming my textbook closed,

"Cause you're an overachiever." Emma yawns flipping through a copy of the daily prophet.

"God Em, what's up with you?" Walter says not looking up from the parchment he's taking notes on.

"Just not feeling this whole school thing anymore. I mean seriously. How many spells do we need to know?" Emma folds the paper in half so she can see us.

"You sure this isn't about valentines day..?"

Emmas eyes drift from me over towards Adrien and Clarissa who are sucking each others faces off by the lake wall. She shakes her head and looks back at Wally and I. "Nope absolutely not. I don't know what you're talking about. When even is valentines day?"

"Tomorrow." I open my textbook again and try to finish translating the ruins of some ancient scroll

"So I'm guessing you have plans with George tomorrow?" Walter pushes me with his shoulder a bit.

I shake my head no, "Nah, he's got quidditch things to deal with and I need to finish up my care of magical creatures composition.

"How... romantic." Emma frowns. She unfolds her paper and starts to read again.

"We just aren't romantic is all. I'd much rather spend time with him when it's not forced you know? Like valentines day is so... blah."

"Keep telling yourself that sweetheart." Emma flips the page of the paper.

The next day Emma and I grab our books for history of magic before heading off to the dining hall for breakfast. "Oh my god." Emma giggles when we get into the hall.

Its disgustingly pink, big flowers were on all the walls, the tables covered in bright table cloths, heart-shaped confetti is falling from the bright blue ceiling. "I'm gonna vomit."

Emma twirls and looks up into the falling hearts. "Oh come on. It's adorable!" She takes my hand and raises it in the air and forces me to twirl in a circle. I try my hardest not to smile but it really doesn't work. "See? You love love!"

I stick my tongue out at her and we go sit down at our table. Walter walks in with Lee shortly after and after a quick goodbye he comes over to us. After our conversation a while back, he said that he's not comfortable telling Emma quite yet and by the looks of things, that time hasn't come yet.

"Wally! Isn't it so beautiful in here? Doesn't it just get you in the spirit of love?" Emma sighs, twirling her wand in between her fingers mindlessly.

"It's definitely something that's for sure." He says looking at the decorations very unimpressed.

As the rest of the school slowly trickles in, we all watch their reactions to the new décor. Only the Slytherins and Ravenclaws seem to show any kind of annoyance or disgust at the very pink room

When George and Fred walk in they both start laughing almost immediately. George makes eye contact with me and smiles really big and dramatically blows me a kiss which makes us both laugh "Seriously, do you two not have any plan?" Emma says watching George go sit down with his friends.

"I'm telling you, Wood has him on the quidditch pitch every spare second he has. Besides, we both don't see the reason for valentines day." I fill my plate with food and start buttering my toast.

"Would you look at this wanker." Walter says nodding towards the stage at the front of the room where the teachers eat.

Our favourite teacher Professor Lockhart steps up to the podium in the brightest pink robes I've ever seen in my entire life. His blond hair is perfectly waved and parted and his smile is as white as snow. "Happy Valentines Day!" He shouts the room goes quiet as we all watch him make a fool out of himself. "And may I say thank you to the forty-six people who have so far sent me cards! Yes, I have taken the liberty of arranging this little surprise for you and it doesn't end here!"

Emma sighs and rests her head on the palm of her hand, "Please don't tell me you send our Professor a love letter?" I hiss at her. She doesn't respond so that means she totally did, "Ew! He's so old!"

Lockhart claps his hands and it echos through the hall, the doors open and about a dozen angry dwarfs come walking through to the stage, dressed exactly like cupids. "Bloody hell," Walter whispers.

"My friendly card-carrying cupids! They will be roving around the school today delivering your Valentines! And the fun doesn't stop here! I'm sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirit of the occasion! Why not ask Professor Snape to whip up a love potion! And while you're at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Enchantments than any wizard I've ever met, the sly old dog!"

Flitwick shrinks lower in his seat so he's almost under the table, and Snape looks as if someone asks him to teach a love potion he'll use an unforgivable curse on them.

For the rest of the day, dwarfs came in and out of classrooms singing love songs to people at the top of their lungs. Fred, George, and Lee took it upon themselves to join in every time they started a new song for someone.

"I promise to love you for every moment of forever, and when everything else crumbles, I will never" The dwarf's drone on in a monotone singing voice, George, Fred, and Lee belt the words right along with them even if they don't know them, then they break out into applause as the Hufflepuff girl who got the message buries herself in her robes.

It's all fun and games until the dwarfs turn their attention to me during potions class that evening. "No please no." I groan Emma and Walter laugh at me.

The dwarf starts playing a little tune on his harp and clears his throat. "This is from George Weasley to Violet LeStrange so listen close. Roses are red, Gryffindors are too. Violet's are violet and not fucking blue!" The class erupts into laughter, myself included. George stands up and takes a bow, which Snape takes five points from Gryffindor for.

"Two little blood traitors sitting in a tree. K.I.S.S.I.N.G" Clarissa sings from the other side of the room.

Emma grabs my wand arm before I can do anything to her that will get me in trouble. "You're not going to do anything about that?" George yells at Snape. "You took five points from me for standing up!"

"And you just lost another five Mister Weasley and a detention. Hopefully, this teaches you not to raise your voice at a Professor." Snape says coldly to him. George looks at me flabbergasted but opens his book and doesn't say anything else. For the rest of the lesson, the room was tense. So tense you could cut the air with a knife. As soon as the bell rang for dinner everyone rushes out of the room.

"I'm going to kill that bitch." I say to my friends as Clarissa and her group passes by us in the corridor.

"Don't say things you don't mean Violet." George comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist and rests his chin on my shoulder.

"I mean it with every fibre in my body," I grumble. George kisses my cheek and we all just stand there and watch as Clarissa and her friends turn the corner to go down the stairs.

"Happy Valentine's Day everyone!" Fred says cutting the silence.

"Happy Valentine's day you beautiful people," Emma says, giving Fred and Wally one arm hugs.

Together we all walk down to the dining hall and with a quick kiss and a 'happy valentines day' from George we part ways and go eat dinner.

In the common room, we overhear Draco bragging about his most recent encounter with Harry Potter. "He has a diary! So I stole it from him of course, and I was going to read it but then the idiot cursed me!" All his little second-year friends gasp in horror. "It was awful, the most pain I've ever been in. But then his stupid little Weasley girlfriend came running over because she sent him a singing dwarf and that other basted Weasley made me leave."

I go over to Draco and ruffle his hair, "If you didn't want to get cursed maybe you shouldn't steal peoples diary hmm?"

Draco turns around to look at me, "Well you weren't there, what do you know?"

"I know enough not to get myself cursed."

Draco scoffs, Pansy and Blaise laugh at my comment a little before getting the look from Draco.

"Did you get a package of sweets from your mother too?" I ask Draco, diffusing the tension slightly.

"Yeah, she sent me a bunch of saltwater taffy but no strawberry kind. Can we trade?"

I nod and pull out a bunch of taffy from my pocket and trade all my strawberry ones for banana ones.

"So, how was your Valentines day?" Emma asks me when we get back into our dorm room.

"Bite me."


	37. Part 2, Chapter 22

When Easter holidays came around the school emptied out again, loads of student opting for the chance to spend time with their families over the holidays, Draco being one of them. Emma, Walter, and I on the other hand, stay at school. Easter is professors favourite time to give us homework, and we also have to choose our classes for next year.

"Year five is important! We have to write our OWLs." I say to everyone as we sit in the dining hall looking through what courses we need to take and what ones we can choose.

"Or we can just not take any classes and just roam around the school aimlessly," Lee suggests getting a high five from the twins.

"Hows about we take the same classes so we can all suffer together?" Wally says looking around at all of us.

"Nope, not at all. I don't want Violet's course load." George says. "I mean that in the nicest way possible gorgeous." He winks at me and goes back looking at the parchment we need to fill out or classes on.

"Well I have to take all the core courses, so Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, Flying..." I list off all the classes as I write them down on the parchment, "And I want to continue Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient ruins.... I think I'll start Divination this year. It sounds interesting."

I look up from my form and everyone is staring at me. "You're not seriously considering taking another class during our OWLs year are you?" Emma presses.

"I want to learn as much as I can while I'm at school. It's harder to learn things when you're a real adult." George leans over and kisses my temple.

Easter holidays were boring besides course choosing. George and Fred were busy with quidditch and the rest of us did our homework in the bleachers supporting them as much we could. When everyone came back to school the days leading up to the Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff quidditch game flew by. On the day of the entire school makes their way down to the pitch.

"Why can't quidditch season be over already? I'm tired of sitting on these old wooden bleachers." I groan as we find a spot in the stands.

"Good thing you're dating a quidditch player then eh Violet?" Wally winks at me and I shove him gently.

"What's McGonagall doing on the pitch. She isn't refereeing is she?" Emma says trying to peer over the people sitting in front of us.

"The match has been cancelled!" She shouts through the megaphone. The crowd erupts into boos and shouting but she ignores it all. "All students are to make their way back to the house common rooms where their head of house will give them further instructions. As quickly as you can please!"

Emma grabs my hand in fear, "What the hell is going on."

"I dunno, but I want to find George. Go back to the common room with Walter, I won't be long." I shove my way through the crowd of panicked and confused students towards the Gryffindor changing tent.

George and Fred come out almost as soon as I get there. "Hey love," I say before kissing George. "Do you know what's going on?"

George takes my hand and together the three of us walk back to the castle as fast as possible. "Its Hermione. She's been attacked. Petrified. McGonagall whisked Ron and Harry away as soon as she could."

"Christ..." I say to myself.

Before we reach the castle, George pulls me aside and tells Fred to go on ahead. He pulls a small package out from his quidditch bag. "Here. It's a quill that I managed to bewitch. Write on parchment and its normal. Write on your skin and it'll appear on my skin. I have one too. So we can communicate when we are locked in our common rooms."

I shove the quill in my pocket and give George a kiss on the cheek. "That's genius. Let me know if you find anything out okay?" He nods and I rush off to the Slytherin common room.

"All students will return to their house common rooms by six o'clock in the evening... No student is to leave the dormitories after that time... You will be escorted to each lesson by a teacher... No student is to use the bathroom unaccompanied by a teacher...All further quidditch training and matches are to be postponed...There will be no more evening activities..." Snape reads from a roll of parchment. The entire Slytherin house stands in the common room hanging onto each rule he lists off. "There has been two more attacks this evening... Gryffindor student Hermione Granger... and Ravenclaw student Penelope Clearwater... There will be serious consequences if I catch any of you out and about past curfew... I will not have you disgrace the Slytherin name..." and with that, he turns and walks out of the common room.

"That's one person from every house." Walter points out when we sit down on the couch by the glass wall.

I pull blankets out from the basket and hand one to Walter and one to Emma. "Everyone but Slytherin..." I say quietly. Emma pulls the blanket up to her chin and shivers.

"Uhh, Vi? There's ink appearing on your arm there." Emma watches words show up on my forearm.

WE CAN'T LEAVE COMMON ROOM UNLESS FOR CLASSES. CURFEW IS 6 PM. SAME FOR YOU?

"Its George! He bewitched two quills so we can talk to each other no matter what. If he writes on his skin with his it shows up on me, and vice versa."

"Brilliant. You wouldn't expect him to be a genius." Wally says grabbing my arm and reading the message out. It fades away just like it appeared.

I pull out the quill from my pocket and Emma passes me her jar of ink. "Let's see if this works." I read what I'm writing out loud. "SAME HERE. CAN'T EVEN GO TO THE BATHROOM ALONE."

As soon as I finish writing the ink fades off my skin. It takes a second for George to reply. "BE CAREFUL. GRYFFINDORS DON'T TRUST SLYTHERIN. THEY THINK ONE OF YOU IS DOING ALL THIS. SLYTHERIN IS ONLY HOUSE THAT HASN'T BEEN ATTACKED." I read out loud.

"Course they do. Cause every Slytherin in the whole damn house is evil in their eyes. No matter what we say or how many friendships we have with other houses we are the first ones they throw under the bus." Emma says angrily.

"I mean seriously? I bet they won't even stand up for us. Blasted Gryffindors. Can't trust any of them." Walter says agreeing with Emma.

"You people are just as bad as them! Listen to you all, as soon as you hear something bad that one person said you instantly get ready to fight them?"

Emma and Walter look at each other, "You mean what you do every time someone says anything against you or people you care about? How many times have you nearly killed someone this year?"

VIOLET? ARE YOU OKAY? George's messy handwriting shows up on my arm.

PLEASE TELL ME YOU TOLD OFF THE GRYFFINDORS TALKING BAD ABOUT THE SLYTHERINS. WE AREN'T EVIL BASTARDS. I write back to him. "Let's just keep our heads down and follow the rules. I don't need one of you guys turning up frozen in the corridors."

COURSE I KNOW YOU AREN'T EVIL. ITS JUST A STRESSFUL TIME AND YOUR HOUSE DOESN'T LOOK TOO GOOD RIGHT NOW. I read Georges message out loud and Emma groans, "No one's house looks good right now. He can shove it."

I DON'T WANT TO GET INTO THIS RIGHT NOW. I'LL SEE YOU IN HERBOLOGY TOMORROW


	38. Part 2, Chapter 23

When it's time to leave for breakfast Snape comes into the common room to walk us all to the dining hall. No ones very excited about this arrangement, especially Snape who looks like he's ready to kill someone. All night George has been writing to me, asking to talk, making sure I'm okay, but I've been ignoring him.

After breakfast, Dumbledore tells us to meet in front of our first-period teachers so they can walk us to our classroom. "Violet? Are you okay?" George says to me as soon as he sees me.

"Fine yeah. Surprised you want to be seen with me. Given I'm a Slytherin and all." I say back to him. Emma and Walter excuse themselves from the conversation and Professor Sprout starts to lead us towards the greenhouses.

"Oh don't be like that. I mean it is the heir of Slytherin. And it is Slytherins monster. It's just all a little uncomfortable you know?"

We turn the corner and follow Sprout outside. "Yeah. Uncomfortable. Almost as uncomfortable to be labelled as evil, rude, mean, horrible, vicious people just because of the house you're sorted into." I snap, drawing attention from a few other students walking ahead of us.

"You're not like that though! You're different!"

I scoff, "Everyone in Slytherin is different! None of us are what you all think of us! Just because the rest of this damn school doesn't even try to see us as any different is the problem! And the fact that you just agree with them is just-"

"Who said I agree with them? It's just an observation is all. An observation that I'm sure you have noticed as well."

I nod slightly and shrug my shoulders, "I'm sorry I'm just loyal to people I care about. Including my housemates you know?"

George throws his arm over my shoulders, "Course I do, that's something I love about you."

No one left the classroom for anything that day. Professor Sprout was on edge the entire time, so much so she knocked over three pots when Cedric Diggory asked her a question. At the end of the day, we are all led back to our common room and locked in by Snape.

"At least we are going to be able to get all our work done without any distractions...?" Walter says trying to lighten the mood.

Emma rolls her eyes, "Distractions like what?"

"Distractions like Cedric Diggory. Merlin knows you pay attention to him more than you pay attention to your schoolwork."

"What can I say? He's beautiful." Walter rolls his eyes and starts to work on the Care of Magical Creatures composition.

As summer began to creep over the castle, the rules around school got stricter and stricter. No one went anywhere without a buddy, the whole school murmuring about Slytherin.

"Violet! Violet! Did you hear!" Draco comes practically soaring into the common room Thursday night.

"Oh goodness Draco, I love you but if you say one more thing about Harry Potter I might have to disown you." I put my quill down and look up from my notes. Emma laughs and focuses her attention on Draco.

"No not this time! Its father! He had Hagrid sacked and sent off to Azkaban! And -and he got the Headmaster an order of suspension!" Draco says out of breath.

My jaw drops, "He did what? Dumbledore is gone..?"

"Yeah! It's fantastic, isn't it? I have to go tell everyone!" Draco dashes off leaving Emma and me alone.

"Your uncle is powerful. Bloody hell." Emma says, half watching Draco tell the story to anyone who'd listen.

"This just means the attacks are going to get worse. If Dumbledore can't stop them then who can?"

Emma turns her full attention to me. "Okay but if they took Hagrid to Azkaban, and he was the one attacking students, then the attacks will be done and over with and we can get a better headmaster!"

Walter comes back from the bathroom and sits down beside us, "So it's true? Your uncle really went and had our groundskeeper thrown in Azkaban?"

"Apparently. Which is honestly not what I need right now. Can't we all just study for our exams and call it a year?"

YOUR UNCLE GOT HAGRID SENT TO AZKABAN? Appears on my arm.

APPARENTLY. DUNNO THE FACTS. I JUST WANT TO STUDY. I write back George. He doesn't respond, getting the idea that I'm very much not in the mood to have a conversation right now.

Nearly the whole school was talking about Hagrid and Dumbledore the next day. Everyone blaming Draco and I simply because we are related to uncle Lucius and he was the one that caused all this mess.

"Out of all the things my family has done. This is the one that gets me weird looks?" I joke with Emma.

Apparently she doesn't find it funny because she hugs me long and hard telling me it's okay to cry.

"Don't worry love, it'll all come full circle eventually. No one's even going to remember your uncle's actions by the time exams come round." George whispers to me during charms one afternoon. But they do, Uncle Lucius, Draco, and I were the talk of the school till the end of May. Then everyone started talking about the exams we have to take on June first.

"I don't get it. Like I know that we have to write exams because we are at school and everything, but how are we supposed to study when we can't even go to the library? Or spend extra time with our teachers after class?" Walter moans after McGonagall reminds us that exams are coming up soon at the end of her transfiguration class.

Three days before exams McGonagall steps up to the podium at breakfast. "I have some good news!" She says loudly, the entire hall falls silent.

"Dumbledore's coming back!" Someone shouts from the other side of the room.

"You've caught the heir of Slytherin!" Another voice says loudly.

"You've expelled LeStrange and Malfoy!" Someone at the Gryffindor table shouts. Emma grabs a hold to my wand arm, sort of an instinct at this point in the school year.

"Quidditch matches are back on!" Oliver Wood shouts, standing from his spot at the Gryffindor table.

"Professor Sprout has told me that the Mandrakes are ready for cutting at last. Tonight, we will be able to revive those people who have been petrified. I need hardly remind you all that one of them may well be able to tell us who, or what attacked them. I am hopeful that this dreadful year will end with catching our culprit!" McGonagall continues. The room erupts into cheers and applause.

I look down the Slytherin table and notice that Draco is one of the few that aren't cheering along with the rest of them. I never thought that Draco could be capable of doing such a thing as petrifying muggle-born students. But with the look on his face right now I could have been fooling myself.

"What'd you think they're going to say when they've been woken up?" Emma asks excitedly.

I sigh and shake my head. "Dunno. But whoever or whatever it is, I hope its got nothing to do with Slytherin."


	39. Part 2, Chapter 24

Later in the day, when everyone was in their classes, McGonagall's voice comes blaring through the corridors. "ALL STUDENTS TO RETURN TO THEIR HOUSE DORMITORIES AT ONCE. ALL TEACHERS RETURN TO THE STAFF ROOM. IMMEDIATELY PLEASE"

Without waiting for instruction everyone in my Ancient Ruins class jumps to their feet and start running for the door. I push through everyone and sprint down to the dungeons and flow into the common room along with everyone else.

"Draco! Draco! Are you here!" I call through the common room, searching wildly for my cousin. Draco flings his arms around me and holds on as tight as he can.

"Violet, what's happening? I'm scared." He says to me. Slytherin students are running in every which way trying to find their friends.

"I dunno. But stay here. Please for the love of god stay here and don't you dare put a foot out of line." I hold onto Draco's shoulders and look at him in the eyes. He nods a bunch and I give him one more hug before sending him off to his friends.

"Violet! Where have you been? What's going on?" Emma grabs a hold of my arm and pulls me down the hallway to our dorm room. Walter is already inside. She slams the door behind us and locks it so no one else can get in.

"I dunno, just got here. Why does everyone think that I'll know what's happening?" I sit down on my bed and look between Emma and Walter.

"You- You haven't heard?" Walter stammers.

"Heard what?"

Walter and Emma share a look before speaking, "It's Ginny- Ginny Weasley. Whoever it was took her down to the chamber..."

I laugh and shake my head, "No that's not.... No, she's a pureblood."

Almost as if he heard me say something writing appears on my arm. THEY HAVE GINNY. I'M WITH MY BROTHERS IN THE COMMON ROOM. VIOLET I'M SCARED.

I look up at my friends, tears in my eyes. "Emma pass me my quill," I whisper, she grabs it from my side table and brings it over to me. I read what I'm writing out loud, TELL ME HOW TO GET TO YOU. I WANT TO BE WITH YOU.

"Violet are you mad? You're really going to try and sneak out of the common room with everyone around like this?" Walter sits beside me and rubs my knee.

I NEED YOU SAFE. STAY WHERE YOU ARE. THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT SENDING EVERYONE HOME AND CLOSING HOGWARTS.

"Closing Hogwarts? You've got to be mad! They can't possibly close down the school!" Emma shrieks.

KEEP ME UPDATED. PLEASE STAY SAFE. DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID. I wipe a tear from my eye and sigh deeply.

I LOVE YOU. I read my arm a hundred times over, till it fades away and I look at Emma and Walter. "Well? Go on and reply." Emma says sitting on the other side of me.

I take a deep breath before responding. I LOVE YOU TOO.

The rest of the night was awful. Eventually, we had to unlock the door and leave our dorm so that Clarissa, Miriam, and Henrietta could get ready for bed. Not like anyone was getting much sleep though. Everyone decided to bring our mattresses and things out to the common room so we could all stay together, better in numbers as our Prefect put it. We did the same as we did last year, moving all the furniture to the side and making room for all of our things.

STILL NOTHING. ARE YOU OKAY? Appears on my arm. I write back quickly that we are all fine and put my quill under my pillow. There's a quiet murmur that can be heard throughout the entire room as people talk amongst themselves trying to piece together what happened and why the heir of Slytherin took a pureblood when the entire thing was keeping purebloods pure.

At three in the morning, my arm fills with ink. THEY FOUND HER! HARRY AND RON FOUND HER! SHE'S ALIVE. SHE'S SAFE!

I let out a shaky breath and tell Emma and Walter. But it's not long till Snape comes into the common room, speaks quickly to a prefect and closes the door again. The few students who managed to fall asleep are shaken awake by their friends.

"I've just been informed that ahem. Can I please for the love of Merlin have all of your attention? I mean your whole lives could be in danger." The Prefect says staring down a group of first years. They all shut up and one of them mutters an apology. The prefect rolls her eyes. "Anyways, I've just been informed that Ginny Weasley is alive and safe. Slytherins monster has been slain and the chamber has been closed. Everyone get up, there's a feast happening in the great hall."

"Who in their right mind made Theodora a prefect?" Emma grumbles.

"Anyone's better than Merula. You remember when she was Prefect last year?" Walter shivers at the memory.

Nevertheless, we all get up and walk out into the corridor, the first time in months that we aren't being watched by a teacher. George comes running up to me, lifts me off my feet, and spins me around as soon as he sees me.

"You love me!" He whispers into my ear when he puts me back down on the ground. He doesn't let me answer before he kisses me hard on the lips.

"How's your sister?"

George's smile falters a little, "She's good. Mum and Dad wanted to take her home but she'd much rather stay here for the rest of the term."

The feast was like none other we've ever had. Everyone was in their pyjamas, completely exhausted. Even Dumbledore was strutting around in his pyjamas, carrying a teddy bear under his left arm.

When he stepped to the podium the room went quiet, "Another year past! Your brains are more full than ever! How exciting knowledge is! Now, I would greatly appreciate that none of you tell your parents what happened here this past year."

The whole room is confused. "Only joking! Never lie to your parents. That's not a very good thing to do." He clears his throat and places his teddy bear on the top of the podium so it looks out at us all. "Anyways! I must inform you all that Professor Lockhart will no longer be teaching at Hogwarts, for uhm, medical reasons. But enough of bad news, we have to award the house cup! Now with the events of tonight that I'm sure you've all heard about because gossip is a beautiful thing, I have to award some last-minute points! For Ron Weasley, for being exceptionally brave and risking his life for his sister, I award Gryffindor two-hundred points!" The whole school erupts into cheers along with many of the Slytherins who are so relieved that we are finally done with the heir of Slytherin nonsense. "And for Harry Potter! Who looked death in the face quite literally, and showed true loyalty to those he cares about, I award Gryffindor two-hundred points!"

The room erupts again. I can see Fred rub Harrys head. "That means! Hufflepuff comes in fourth place with 387 points! Slytherin and Ravenclaw tie for second, with 452 points! And Gryffindor comes in first! With an astonishing 881 points!"

The room nearly blows up with the excitement from the Gryffindor table. "Yes yes! Congratulations Gryffindor!" Dumbledore says. "I have a few last words before Professor McGonagall comes to the stand to make an announcement. And those words are, hullaballoo, ragamuffin, and, kerfuffle!" Dumbledore bows deeply before snatching his bear off the stand and sitting back in the headmaster's chair.

McGonagall stands from her spot beside Dumbledore and goes to the podium.

"What'd 'a think she's going to say? Exams start tomorrow I hope you're ready?" Walter jokes.

McGonagall clears her throat. "These past few months have been hard for us all. And with some of our students being petrified for the majority of that time, I feel that it's only fair to cancel this year's exams!"


	40. Part 2, Chapter 25

The last few weeks of the term fly by in a hot blur. Teachers and students alike stopped taking things seriously, rather than teaching us things from our textbooks they asked us what we wanted to learn and taught us that. Everyone except Snape of course who still took his lessons very seriously.

"You ready for the summer?" Emma asks on our final night. She shoves her clothes in her trunk without folding anything. "Hey, come sit on this for me?"

I go over and plop onto the top of her trunk so she can do the buckles up. "Excited? Not in the slightest. Mister Weasley won the Daily Prophet galleon draw and they are taking the entire family to Egypt to visit their eldest son Bill. Meaning I won't have any place to sneak off to if I get tired of my aunt and uncle."

Emma does up the buckle on her trunk and I hop off it. "And to top it all off we no longer have a house-elf! Which I'm not overly upset about because Uncle Lucius abused poor Dobby for years on end but he was great company and I'm going to miss him loads."

"I wish I am going to be around this year so you'll have someone to talk to but my parents want to go back to France. They're talking about staying there forever you know. Enrolling me into the Beaux Batons or whatever its called over there."

My heart sinks, I lost Clarissa last year, I can't lose Emma this year. "Oh really? Do you have a say in any of it?" I go over to my trunk and carefully put the rest of my books and things inside it.

"If I get ten OWLs then I can stay. Other than that they say they will lie about my age and put me back a few years at the new school." Emma plops on my bed and scoops Fergus into her lap. "Which I don't think is very fair. Especially since I don't speak a lick of French and I think it might be ab all-girls school."

I buckle up my trunk and dust my hands off on my jeans. "Oh, what a shame that will be." I joke around. Emma throws a cork from an empty bottle at me and I laugh.

We wake up early so we can get to the train on time the next morning. Getting Fergus into his carrying cage is a fight but with the help of both Emma and Walter, we make it work.

"You think that the house cat's original owner just couldn't get it in the carrying cage so they just left him here?" Walter asks grabbing the handle of his trunk.

We all look over at the massive old cat sprawled out on the couch. "Dunno. I feel kind of bad for it. Maybe you should take it home with you Wally."

Walter looks at me, then back at the cat. "Mums allergic. Can't bring any pet home. Rather annoying really." We shrug and head out of the common room and out of the castle.

When we get to the platform we lug all our things into the Slytherin car before dashing down the train to the booth that the twins normally sit in. We burst through the doors and plop down with them. I kiss George on the cheek and listen as he ensures Lee that they will do their slinky prank some other time because the school locked down this year and it would have been inappropriate. Not long after Walter, Emma, and I sat down in the booth, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all come in and squeeze onto the benches.

"So what exactly happened down in the chamber?" Walter asks after the train pulls out of the Hogwarts station.

Harry and Ron jump at the opportunity to tell their longwinded and exciting story of what they got up to. Harry seemed to have put an emphasis on saving Ginny's life which made her blush, something I think only I notice.

Hours pass and we are nearly pulling into kings cross station when Harry says, "Ginny, what did you see Percy doing that he didn't want you to tell anyone?"

George, who was napping five seconds ago, springs his head up and focuses on the conversation at hand suddenly. I pully my sleeve over my thumb and wipe George's chin. "You got some drool there genius," I say to him.

Ginny giggles bringing the attention back to her, "Well, Percy's got a girlfriend!" She squeals.

Fred drops a stack of books on George's head, "Ow! You idiot! It's not that shocking, I've got a girlfriend!"

"Yeah but I never thought Percy would have found one before me!" Fred says. He picks the books up from the floor and George's lap.

"It's that Ravenclaw Prefect, Penelope Clearwater. That's who's he's been writing to all last summer. He's been meeting her all over the school in secret. I walked in on them kissing in an empty classroom one day."

"I wish you lot would sneak around so I didn't have to see all that," Ron says to George and me.

"See what? This?" George takes my chin in between his thumb and index finger, turns my head towards him and kisses me very sloppily making me laugh against his lips.

"He was so upset when she was- you know- attacked," Ginny says completely ignoring George's and my laughter. "You won't tease him about it will you?"

Fred shakes his head no even though it looks like his birthday came early, "Wouldn't dream of it. What about you there Georgie boy?"

George and I are still laughing at ourselves and goofing off. "Hmm? Oh yeah, definitely not. Don't worry about that for a second little sister." He reaches across the gap and ruffles Ginny's hair.

When the train stops everyone but George and I rush out of the cabin to get their things and meet their parents. "Have fun this summer. Your family deserves it." I say to George. I take his hands in mine and just kind of hold them.

"mmmm, just going to suck not being able to see you all summer and send you all of the things that we find in Egypt."

I stand on my tippy toes because he's gotten quite a lot taller this year and kiss him on the lips. "Don't you mind that. But do me one favour?" George hums lightly. "Don't fall in love with some exotic Egyptian witch."

George laughs, "Course not. I wouldn't even dream of it."

I kiss him on the lips again. "Oh! Can you also steal me a rock or something cool from a pyramid?"

George laughs again and agrees to try and steal me something from one of the pyramids he visits. I kiss him goodbye one last time before racing down the train back to the Slytherin car, grabbing my things and stepping off the train to meet my aunt and uncle.

"Violet! There you are! We've missed you so much!" Aunt Narcissa pulls me in for a hug. Draco is already beside his father telling him about how Potter saved the day once again. But by the look on Uncle Lucius' face, he already knows exactly what happened.

"Let's go, please. I don't want to be stuck behind some useless muggles all the way back home." Uncle Lucius says angrily. Auntie helps me with my trunks and we walk down the platform to the entrance to 9 and ¾ passing the Weasley family as we do.

I don't say anything to them in fear that I'll upset uncle Lucius more than he already is so I slow my pace and I wave at Molly, Arthur, and all of their children when Auntie and Uncle can't see before jogging to catch up with them.

"So how was your year you two? Besides the whole Chamber of Secrets ordeal?"


	41. Part 3, Chapter 1

Don't you just love when a crazed second cousin who has been removed from the family tree breaks out of Azkaban? No? Just me? Well then.

"You don't have to worry about a thing. Azkaban has sent dementors to Hogwarts this year so you'll stay safe." Uncle Lucius explains at dinner two days before we have to leave for Hogwarts. "Sirius Black is a dangerous wizard but I don't want you to worry about a thing. We are taking you to the leaky cauldron tomorrow morning, your mother and I have some things we have to take care of that I'd rather not you two be a part of."

Draco huffs. "I'm old enough! I don't want to be stuck at the leak cauldron!"

Uncle Lucius is clearly stressed because he stabs his steak knife into the table, "I don't give a damn what you want or don't want. This is what I'm telling you to do and you will listen to me!" He roars. Draco shrinks down into his chair.

"How about you two go pack your things. Make sure you pack everything you need for Hogwarts. I'll wake you both up at 7 o'clock tomorrow morning." Aunt Narcissa says trying to diffuse the tension. I take the napkin off of my lap and place it beside my half-empty plate before getting up, pushing my chair in, and walking upstairs to my room, Draco following quietly behind.

I open my bedroom door and pull Draco inside before closing it quietly. "Why do you do that? Why do you always go and try to force yourself into situations that they clearly don't want you to be apart of?"

Draco sits on the chair I have set up by my bookshelf. "Aren't you interested though? Sirius Black is mothers cousin, who was sorted into Gryffindor, and then locked up in Azkaban?"

I take a few of my things off the top of my dresser and put them in the trunk at the base of my bed. "It is interesting I'll give you that but if he's as dangerous as they say..."

"But that's the thing!" Draco exclaims too loudly. I put a finger to my mouth to signal him to be more quiet and he lowers his voice. "Our entire family are dangerous wizards. Your mother tortured two people into insanity! What's so different about Sirius?"

I open the drawer to my dresser and pull out my jeans and things so I can pack them. He's got a point, normally our family praises evil and insanity. What makes Sirius so different? "It'll be fun, staying at the leaky cauldron together. Auntie and Uncle are giving us a bunch of money so we can get all our school things and have some fun while we are there. The ministry is going to be sending a car to come get us so we can go to Kings Cross Station on the first. We'll have our own driver!"

Draco get excited about that fact for sure, "Do you think Potter will see that? He was acting all high and mighty when he found out father got kicked off the school board thing. Maybe seeing us with our own personal driver will change his mind!" He gets up from the chair and leaves my room off to go pack. Good timing too because ink appears on my arm.

EGYPT WAS FANTASTIC. GOING TO THE LEAKY CAULDRON TOMORROW. STAYING TILL THE FIRST. CAN YOU COME SEE ME?

I smile for one of the first times since school. George and I have been talking on and off all summer using the bewitched quills he's made for us but it's been difficult. If my uncle found out about the quill I have he'd snap it in half without a second thought. I go over to my desk and pull the quill George gave me out from the little cup I keep my writing things in and pull out a jar of ink.

AUNTIE AND UNCLE ARE TAKING ME AND DRACO THERE TOMORROW. STAYING THE NIGHT. SEE YOU THEN. I start packing my things up faster, the thought of seeing my boyfriend gives me butterflies. It's hard, not being able to see him or talk to him for two months of the year, and the fact that we, well I, have to keep things quiet and relatively secret around my aunt and uncle.

YOUR FAMILY STAYING TOO OR JUST YOU? Appears on my arm in Georges chicken scratch he calls handwriting.

DRACO AND I. AUNT AND UNCLE HAVE BUISNESS TO ATTEND TO. THINK ITS ABOUT MY COUSIN SIRIUS BLACK. I pull out all my parchment canisters and stack them neatly in my smaller trunk I use for my school supplies. I take down a few of my old textbooks from my bookshelf and pack them just in the off chance I need them this year.

SHIT. FORGOT THAT HE IS YOUR COUSIN. DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HIM? SIRIUS BLACK? I dunno how much I should tell him, not that I know much myself. Once you're taken off the family tree no one really tells anyone who you are.

NOPE. HE WAS BURNED OUT OF THE TREE YEARS AGO WHEN HE RAN AWAY. HE'S KNOWN AS A TRAITOR. I finish packing my things and lay out an outfit to wear tomorrow morning so I don't slow down everyone else. I change into my pyjamas and light the candle on my bedside table.

GOTTA GO. SEE YOU TOMORROW. I LOVE YOU. I whisper George's message to myself and smile.

LOVE YOU TOO. CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU. I take the quill and put it in my trunk and crawl back into bed, blowing out the candle in the process.

When Aunt Narcissa wakes me up I quickly change into the clothes I picked out last night and pack the pyjamas I was sleeping in. I double check my room, making sure I didn't miss anything then call up our new house elf to take my things downstairs.

Draco, Uncle Lucius, and Aunt Narcissa are already sitting by the table when I come downstairs, "Sorry I'm late, I wanted to make sure I had everything I needed packed."

Uncle brushes my comment off with his hand and gestures me to sit down. "I need you both to promise me that you will keep our family business private. I don't need you two running your mouths about something that you don't fully understand." He looks at both Draco and I but his eyes linger on Draco, given he's know for talking about anything and everything if some ones willing to listen. "You're both too young to know exactly what's going on so there's no use in telling you two anything."

"Course Uncle." I say spreading jam on my toast. "It's not my place to speak on something that I'm not educated on."

Uncle Lucius nods and there's a hint of a smile on his face. "What a good girl you are Violet. Your mother and father would be proud of you...as long as they ignore your, how do I say... extracurricular school activities." Uncle Lucius looks at me with a mixture of disappointment and pride, "Either way, I know that when it's your time you will step up." I'm very confused by his response but I shake it off. Uncle Lucius turns his attention to Draco. "You on the other hand... I don't know where we went wrong with you."

The rest of breakfast was silent except for the light clanging of our utensils on our plates. After our house elf clears the table and Draco and I go outside and climb into the ministry car that Uncle Lucius set up to take us to the leaky cauldron.

"Stay safe. Write home when you can. Have a fantastic year." Aunt Narcissa says to us through the car window. We wave goodbye and the driver rolls up the back window and drives off.

"Your fathers favourite child and your not even his!" Draco says after a moment of silence. "You run around the school with – with those damn Weasley and he still likes you more than me!"

I don't know exactly what to say to that so I don't say anything at all. Instead I listen to Draco go on and on about how much he doesn't want to see Potter this year. When we get to the leaky cauldron the driver opens my door for me and takes Draco and my luggage out of the trunk. I take Draco's hand and lead him into the building and to the front desk.

"Checking in? Under Malfoy. Should be two rooms, one for Draco Malfoy, one for myself. Violet LeStrange."

The wizard at the desk looks up when he hears the word Malfoy. "Oh uhm yes of course. My name is Tom. I'll take your bags to your rooms." The wizard, Tom says. He comes out from behind the desk and only then do I notice that his back has a massive bump in it.

"Violet! Oh Violet dear how wonderful it is to see you!" A shrill, warm voice calls from behind me. I barley have time to turn around before Molly Weasley throws her arms around me and give me a bug hug.

"He-ey Molly!" I hug her back much to Draco's shock. The rest of the Weasleys pour into the Inn and in turn give me a hug. All besides Percy that is who stays behind the rest of his family.

"I'm going to my room." Draco huffs. He turns and follows the innkeeper Tom upstairs to his room. He turns around half expecting me to follow but I stay down in the lobby with the Weasleys.

"Oi let me speak to her, she is my girlfriend after all." George says shoving his younger brother Ron out of the way.

"Not our fault your girlfriend is actually fun to talk to." Ron huffs, poking fun at Percy's girlfriend Penelope Clearwater.

George puts his hands on my hips and holds me like that for a moment. "Hi beautiful." He says quietly.

"Hey Weasley. Long time no see."


	42. Part 3, Chapter 2

We all decide to go out into the shops to get what we need for school. Ron found Harry and Hermione so he runs off with them. Draco sent an owl to Crabbe and Goyle and they met up with him in the lobby about an hour after we arrived. Percy dashes off with his girlfriend almost as soon as we arrive. Leaving Fred, George, and I alone.

"Come up to my room, I've got to grab my money, then we can go out," I say to the boys. They both follow me upstairs and I quickly unlock the room that Aunt and Uncle booked for me.

"You get to stay in your own room? Fred, Ron, Percy, and I are all squished into one room, Mum, Dad, and Ginny are in another." George says coming into my room.

I throw open my trunk and pull out my purse that has all the money Auntie and Uncle gave me. "Draco and I would probably drive each other mad if they put us in the same room if I'm being honest with you. He's a gem and I love him but sometimes he just gets on my nerves."

"Mum and Dad have our lists and they're going to buy all our things. We can come with you and help you grab your stuff though. Before we run off and actually start having fun." Fred says, flicking the curtain around my bed.

"I suppose, if you all want to. I have to go get new robes, buy my books, drop my want off at Ollivanders for some care and touch ups, buy more potion ingredients. Get cat food and things for Fergus..." I list off all the chores I have to get done.

"Okay no, I lied, Violet you're one of my best friends but I'm not going to do all those things with you. I'm going to go find Lee and a few others." Fred says. He leaves the room.

"You don't have to stay with me to do all this stuff. It's okay really?" I say to George.

George walks from the dresser in the corner to me standing in the middle of the room, "Are you mad? I haven't seen you all summer. I'm staying with you." He pecks my cheek and takes my hand and together we walk out of the Inn and out into Diagon Alley.

"I want to start with robes, because by the time they're done tailoring them, we'll be done shopping." I say to George pulling him into Madam Malkins.

"I've honestly never been in here." George says looking around at the rather large robe shop.

I look at him and tilt my head to the side, "How do you mean? Where do you get your robes from?"

George rubs the back of his neck looking embarrassed, "The second hand shop. Or Bill and Charlies old school robes."

I step up onto a podium and one of the witches working starts to take down my measurements like I've done since I was eleven. "Sit here," Another witch says to George. She pushes him into a chair in front of the pedestal so he can watch. Then the same witch brings him a tea pot and a cup, along with a plate of treats.

"Oh uhm no thank you." George says looking at the platter that the witch has brought him.

The witch working with me mumbles something, "Georgie it's okay, help yourself." George looks at me and I nod. He shrugs his shoulders and pours himself a cup of tea.

This year, the witch doesn't prick me with the needle, in fact I don't see the witch who was helping me here at all. When we are finished I place an order for three new sets of robes, and leave a rather generous tip. "Sorry, I was just wondering. Last year when I was here there was a young witch, she had blonde hair and was rather short... does she still work here?" I ask the woman behind the desk.

She hands me a slip of parchment with my order number on it and the time to come back for my robes. "She no longer works here. Have a fantastic day and thank you for your business." The witch turns and walks away from us, off to help the next customer.

"That was awfully expensive..." George says once we get back into the main street.

I shrug my shoulders, "I guess. I dunno, Draco and I each get three new sets of robes every school year." I give George a kiss before taking his hand and bring him into Scribbulus writing supplies. "What if I bou bright orange ink this year, write all of my notes and compositions in bright orange?" I joke looking at all the ink colours on the back wall of the shop.

George, who has his hand in my back pocket, kisses my temple lightly, "McGonagall wouldn't like that much." He says laughing.

I take two pints of black ink off the shelf as well as a half pint of dark green ink just for fun. I also get a new ink pot for my green ink so I don't have to worry about mixing the colours. I then pick up ten new quills and bring everything to the front desk. "Could I also have a hundred and fifty feet of rolled parchment, and four parchment canisters? But can you put the hundred and fifty feet in one of those canisters that have the measuring tape and the blade in it? Makes my life much easier when I'm ast school." I tell the wizard working the desk. He nods and goes into the back to measure out the parchment I asked for.

"What's up with your face?" I turn around and look at him head on, leaning my lower back onto the desk that's now behind me.

"Hmm? Oh nothing. Did you know that Percy made head boy?" George wraps his arms around my waist.

"Too bad you didn't make prefect hmm?" I say to him jokingly.

"Oi, neither did you!" George kisses me.

The wizard working the shop clears his throat and I quickly spin around. "Thank you." I say to him, George laughs behind me. The wizard packs up my things and I put the money on the desk. He counts it quickly and gives me the bag.

After a quick stop at Ollivanders to get my wand polished and taken care of, we head into Slugs and Jiggers to get my potion supplies for the year. We then go into Magical Menagerie to get Fergus some food, treats, and a few toys, heading back to the robe shop to pick up my things, before finally arriving at Flourish and Blotts.

"Oh great. Two more Hogwarts students. Bet you're in need of the Monster book of Monsters?" The manager says as soon as we get into the shop.

"Oh no, uhm, just one copy. Someone else is getting his." I tilt my head towards George, pointing at him sort of.

The manager looks relieved, "Oh thank goodness. Go find the rest of your books. This is going to take me a while."

I look at George and he shrugs so together we just roam around collecting the rest of the books that are on my list. We hear a scream and a loud thud coming from the front of the shop. George peeks his head around a stack of books but he cant see what's going on. "Here, your book for Divination. That's the last of them." He takes a book off of a high shelf that I can't reach and goes to hand it to me.

"Thanks love." I reach out for the book but he snatches his hand back.

"Gimme a kiss first." I roll my eyes and peck him on the cheek before snatching the book out of his hand and walking over to the front desk. The manager comes over shortly, his hair a mess, his breath heavy. He plops a rather furry book on the desk that's being held shut by twine. It starts to shake and growl as soon as it hits the desk. The manager takes a few of the books I put on the desk and stacked them on top of it.

"You tell whoever is teaching Care of Magical Creatures this year that if they order a book like this again I'll break their knee caps okay?" The manager says, clearly exhausted.

"Will do sir." I say to him. He takes my money and puts all the books in a bag except for the furry one.

"Let your boyfriend carry this." The manager says. He carefully picks up the monster book and hands it to George. "Good luck."

We go back to the leaky cauldron, our hands full of the shopping we just did. George helps me bring everything into my room. When he puts everything down he flops onto my bed and sighs. I shove everything I bought into my trunk, pour Fergus a small bowl of food. And go flop onto the bed beside George.

He rolls over from his back onto his side and looks at me, "I've missed you." He says softly.

I roll over and look at him, "I missed you too." I whisper.

We stay like that staring at each other in silence. George places the palm of his hand onto my cheek, and rubs his thumb gently across my face. "Can I kiss you." He whispers.

I can feel my cheeks flush red, butterflies instantly fill my stomach, "You've never asked before..." I mumble. My eyes flick from his eyes to his lips.

George rubs his thumb over my lips gently, "This time feels... different." He says watching me with intensity. "So... can I kiss you?"

The look on his face and in his eyes makes the butterflies in my stomach get bigger and bigger, "Yeah..." I breathe out. George hesitates for a moment, then moves closer to me. He bumps his nose against mine and I giggle. Then in one swift movement he attaches his lips to mine.

He was right, it was different. This kiss was like nothing I've ever felt before. It was like the butterflies from my stomach turned into fireworks and they were bursting around us. George sits up a bit and crawl on top of him so I straddle his waist, one of my hands on the back of his neck, the other on his chest. He moves his hands from the side of my face to my hips and he pulls away.

"I have to go to the joke shop." He says breathlessly. We look at each other for a moment before we burst into laughter.

"I'm going to stay here and write to Emma and Walter. I'll see you at dinner okay?" George grumbles. "Don't give me that. Dinner it literally in an hour."

George gently rubs his hands up my back and to my neck. "Maybe I don't need to go to the joke shop that badly. Fred and Lee can get what I need right?" He pulls me back to him and kisses me just as hard as before, slipping his tongue into my mouth. He leans back into the pillows on the bed and moves his hands down to my waist and squeezes slightly making me laugh against his lips.

Apparently dinner was closer than we thought because there's a loud knock on my door. Even though George and I were only kissing we jump apart from each other like we've committed a crime. Draco comes smashing through the door. "Violet. Dinner's on downstairs." He looks at me, then looks at George, then back to me. "Uhm... yeah." He turns quickly and shuts the door behind him.

"We better go..." I say to George. I get up from my bed and he gets up with me. I walk over to the door and put my hand on the door handle and pull it open.

George puts his hand on the door a little higher up and pushes it closed again. "Not quite." He whispers into my ear. He pulls on my belt loop on my pants and I spin around and look up at his face. He leans his head down and plants a kiss on my neck. Something he's never done before. He kisses my neck again, a little higher up than before. Then he kisses my lips, tongue and everything. I lean back into the wall slightly.

He pulls away nearly as quickly as he started kissing me and smiles. "Okay now we can go." He reaches behind me and pulls the door open. I move out of the way so he can pull the door fully open. He then takes my hand and leads me out of the room. I pull the door shut behind me.


	43. Part 3, Chapter 3

"Harry!" Fred pushes Percy aside when George and I step into the bar of the Inn. Fred grabs onto his arm and shakes it aggressively. George walks over to them. I go towards the table that Tom the Innkeeper set up for us all, "Simply splendid to see you old boy-"

George pushes his brother out of the way and grabs onto Harry's arm, "Marvelous, absolutely spiffing." The look on Percy's face makes Ginny and I laugh.

"That's enough now," Molly says coming into the room, her hands full of shopping bags.

"Mum!" Fred shouts as if he's only just seen her, he grabs her hand and shakes it hard, "How really corking to see you-"

Molly puts the shopping down on the table, "I said that's enough!" She looks past her boys and at Harry. "Hello, Harry dear. I suppose you've heard our exciting news?" She pointed her finger at the silver badge pinned to Percy's chest. "Second head by in the family!"

"And last," Fred mutters, Walking away from his mother and sitting down at the table.

George comes back over to me and holds me against his chest in a protective hug. "I don't doubt that. I noticed they haven't made you two prefects."

"What do you want to be prefects for?" George says letting go of me and sitting at the table beside his brother. I sit beside him and he keeps talking. "It'd take all the fun out of life." Ginny and I laugh and Molly rolls her eyes.

"You want to set a better example for your sister!" Molly snaps. Ginny across the table at me and shakes her head.

"Ginny's got other brothers to set her an example mother." Percy says matter of factly.

Fred repeats what Percy says in a high pitch voice making George and I laugh. "We tried to shut him in a pyramid." George says to Harry as he and Ron sit down, "But mum spotted us."

Through the wonderful mess that is the Weasleys, I can see Draco trying to make his way to the bar to get his dinner. I excuse myself from the table and go over to him. "Hey. Come eat dinner with the Weasleys. Please?"

Draco turns around, he's clutching onto his plate with both hands like it's going to hop to the floor and walk away from him. "No absolutely not." Draco says very agressivley.

I grab his arm and pull him farther away from the Weasleys so we can talk quietly. "Draco seriously. Will you please just sit with them for one meal? Crabbe and Goyle are gone. No one from Slytherin is around to judge you."

Draco looks down at his plate and his mouth twitches a little. "What if they don't want me? That seems to be the theme as of late." He says quietly.

My heart breaks, "I want you. I want you to come sit beside me at dinner, along with all of the Weasleys and Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter and I want you to have dinner. I want you to talk, and laugh, and joke around with us. I want you to hang out with us after by the fire place so we can continue our conversations. I want you to go upstairs happy and full and wake up tomorrow ready for the rest of the year. Okay?"

Draco looks at me, his eyes full of tears. He wipes his face on his shirt sleeve and nods at me, "Yeah. That's okay." I put my hand on his shoulder and walk him to the table that is set up. I sit back down beside George and Draco sits gingerly in the seat beside me.

The Weasley kids stop talking, all of them looking at a very scared and obviously nervous Draco. "So. What did I miss?" I say to George.

They all shake off the initial shock of seeing Draco at their table and start talking about nonsense again.

"Percy-kins are we ever going to meet your girlfriend? Because I'm starting to think that she just doesn't exist." Fred says, he dodges the Innkeepers hand as Tom sets the table for us.

Percy looks at him with daggers in his eyes, "You won't be meeting her. I would like to keep her respect thank you very much."

"You think that Violet's ruined the family when it comes to girlfriends because she's so perfect?" George says putting his arm around me and kissing my temple. Draco sits quietly watching with wide eyes. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sit down on the opposite end of the table, as far away from Draco as they can get by the looks of things.

"Violet just has lower... Violet's great but..." Percy stutters. George takes his arm away from me, interested to see where this goes.

I lean my elbows onto the table, "Cat got your tongue there Perce?" I say completely jokingly.

Percy fiddles with the collar of his shirt, "Well... I umh... Penelope just has... a higher standard when it comes to people she wants to associate with."

Draco puts his fork down with a loud bang. I put my hand on his and squeeze it gently. "I dunno about that one Percy. She's associating with you." All of the Weasley kids, Harry and Hermione included snort. All except Percy. Even Draco laughs a bit which makes my heart swell.

When everyone is finally sitting the food is brought out. We all eat through five courses rather quickly. Everyone having their own conversations, even Draco breaks into conversation with Percy about what exactly being a Prefect entails.

When dessert is served we all take as much chocolate pudding as we can eat, "mmm Dad? How are we getting to Kings Cross tomorrow." Fred asks Arthur as he shovels pudding into his mouth.

"The ministry is providing a couple cars."

"The ministry is sending a car for Violet and I too!" Draco says excitedly. Everyone looks at him and then at Arthur.

"Why?" Percy asks out of pure curiosity.

Before Arthur could say anything, George opens his big mouth, "It's because of you Perce." He says very seriously, "And there'll be little flags on the bonnets, with big H.B on them –"

" - For Humungous Bighead." Fred finishes. Everyone but Percy and Molly snort into their pudding. George's pudding goes everywhere. There's a pause before everyone bursts into laughter, Draco included.

Percy completely ignores Draco, Fred, George, and I as we try to clean up the pudding and laugh the entire time we do. "Why is the ministry providing cars father?" Percy says, trying to get an answer out of his father again.

"Well we haven't got one anymore... and because I work there they're doing me a favour." Arthur says it casually but his ears pink up just like the other Weasleys when they are under pressure.

When Fred, George, and I are all finished with dessert we leave the table and head up to my room, dragging Draco behind us. "Are all of your dinners like that?" Draco asks when I finally close the door to my room.

"Like what?" Fred says confused.

Draco shoves his hands in his front pockets and rocks back and forth, "Dunno. That happy? It was so loud and unorganized and messy and..."

Fred and George look at each other, "uh yeah I guess. It's just a family dinner, we just act like a family... Why do you ask?" George presses.

Draco gets more and more uncomfortable so I step in to relieve some of that pressure. "Our dinners aren't like yours is all. It's always very quiet with at least one person getting yelled at. Then we get sent upstairs to our room with no dessert except on Sundays while our house elf cleans up after us." The twins look at me in shock. "At around nine at night we go downstairs for a cup of tea, where another person gets yelled at. Then we stay upstairs in our rooms till we go to sleep so that Aunt Narcissa and Uncle Lucius can talk about things. That's usually when Draco and I play muggle card games so we don't make much noise."

I sit on the floor in the middle of the room, Draco comes to sit beside me. "That's... harsh. Like really fookin harsh." Fred says.

Draco shrugs his shoulders, "It's the Malfoy way. No such thing as real fun with our parents. Just a lot of rules and responsibilities and making sure not to tarnish the family name."


	44. Part 3, Chapter 4

The next morning I'm buried deep under my blankets when George comes into my room and throws himself on top of me. "Get dressed please, the faster we leave this morning the faster I have you all to myself." He mumbles into my blankets.

I pull the blankets off of my face and lie there looking at him, "School means classes and OWLs and friends and quidditch. I bet you twenty galleons that we won't see each other till Christmas."

George laughs and kisses my forehead, "We'll find time love, we always do." He rolls off of me and lies beside me. "Now please get dressed."

I throw my blankets off of me and pad over to my trunk, George sits up and crawls to the end of my bed to watch me. "If you're staying here, you better not peek," I say. George flops backwards on the bed and I quickly change out of my pyjamas and pull on an above the knee black and grey plaid skirt and a tight black tank top, I top the look off with a grey cardigan and black doc martens.

"You look perfect," George says.

I shut my trunk and buckle it up, "How do you know?"

George sits up and flashes me a crooked smile, "I didn't. But I wasn't wrong.". Someone knocks on the door so I get up to answer it.

"Hullo Miss LeStrange. Let me take your bags and things down to the lobby." He pushes through the door and grabs my two trunks and sloppily walks out the door.

George scrambles off the bed and kisses me on the lips. "Come on." He takes my hand and gently pulls me to the door.

"Hold on." I take my purse from the side table and take out two sickles as a tip for Tom. I pick up the cat cage that I managed to get Fergus in and head downstairs.

George goes off with Fred when we get down into the bar and I go over to sit with Hermione, Ginny, and Molly. "There was this one time when I was in school... I had a huge crush on a boy three years above me. My friends and I stole a book from the restricted section and late at night we brewed a love potion for him." Molly tells Hermione and Ginny.

"Mrs. Weasley!" Hermione shrieks, Ginny and her burst into giggles. I sit down at a chair beside Molly.

"Course Violet didn't need any help from a potion to get George to fall head over heels for her." Ginny says to me.

Molly takes my hand in hers and pats it gently. "I hope all my boys manage to find someone as perfect as sweet Violet here."

We talk about boys and things all breakfast, Molly being completely invested in everything that we say. Especially when I bring up things that George has done for me in the past.

At about ten o'clock Draco comes down the stairs and makes his way over to me laughing with everyone. "Violet the cars here." He says to me, leaving an awkward space between him and Molly Weasley.

Molly looks at the clock on the wall, "Blimey! We have to go too. Come on Weasleys and friends! You're going to miss the train... again." She says the last part to Ron and Harry. Draco takes my hand and leads me out to the car the was sent for us. I wave to the Weasleys knowing that I'll see them in a little bit and hop in the car with Draco.

"Don't tell anyone that I actually associated with those people." Draco says to me as the driver pulls away from the leaky cauldron.

"Oh course not. We can't have people thinking that you are actually a sweet little boy." I go to ruffle his hair but he pulls away from me quickly.

"I'm thirteen now Violet. I don't want you treating me like a child."

I roll my eyes and turn in my seat so I can look at him better. "I don't really care how old you are Draco. You're my baby cousin. I'm going to embarrass you whenever I feel like it."

Draco doesn't talk to me the rest of the forty minute drive to Kings Cross. When we arrive, the driver gets out to find two trolleys for our things. We then load our things onto them, wave goodbye to the driver and walk into the station, towards platform 9 ¾.

Draco looks around for any passing muggles before he runs right into the passage that leads us to the platform. I follow close behind him. Draco speeds off to his friend Pansy, leaving me alone to walk up to the train.

"Violet!" Emma Fay calls out from ahead of me. She leaves her trolly with her parents and comes running over to me and gives me a massive bear hug.

"I have to tell you something!" I say to her, grabbing my trolly and walking the rest of the way towards the train.

"Mother, father. This is Violet LeStrange. One of my best friends at Hogwarts." Emma says introducing me to her parents.

"Nice to meet you Mister and Mrs. Fay." I put on my fake happy voice and they nod at me.

Emma takes her trolly and says a quick goodbye to her parents before we head down the train further. "So what is it that you wanted to tell me?" She asks when we are on the train, shoving our trunks away with the rest of the Slytherin things.

Walter comes up to us and we exchange hugs before walking down the train as slow as we can to get to our usual booth. I tell them everything that happened over the past day. How my Aunt and Uncle left us at the leaky cauldron to go deal with our estranged cousin, right down to Molly Weasley's story about the love potion.

"Wait hold on. You're telling me that you and George actually like. Snogged? Not one of those stupid little pecks that you always do?" Emma says in awe.

I nod my head really fast and Emma squeals, even Walter lets out a whistle. "It was crazy! Like I've kissed him before, loads of times but never like this... I feel like, an adult!"

"So what's next? You going to sneak him into the dorms at Christmas and... you know." Walter says wiggling his eyebrows.

Emma squeals again, "Wally! Of course a boy will bring that up the second he could fit it into conversation!" She playfully hits Walters arm. "But I mean... are you? Lets be serious now, you've been dating for about two years now."

I shrug my shoulders, a first year pushes past us in the corridor. "Dunno honestly. I mean I've thought about it. But he doesn't even know that I've seen him shirtless before."

Emma grabs my arm and pulls me into a stop. I spin around and look at her. "You've seen him shirtless!?"

I laugh and shake my head, "Sort of. I mean it was after a quidditch match and I was in the changing tent with him. He told me not to peek but I sort of, turned my head and I saw him shirtless. But only for a second!"

"Lets go Violet!" Walter shouts.

"Don't you think that we are too young to do stuff like that though? I mean we are only in fifth year... And if I have questions its not like I can ask my Aunt. So do I ask Snape?" We open the door to another train car and step through it.

"Do not ask Snape!" Emma hisses at me.

Walter shakes his head, "I dunno, I would pay money to see that conversation happen."

"Okay then who? I need ideas because neither of you have had serious relationships before."

Emma clears her throat and we all stop to look at her. "I may have seen that French boy from last summer. And I may have... you know."

My jaw falls open, "Emma! You did not!" It was my turn to squeal.

"What didn't Emma do?" I turn around and see Fred and George looking at us from the door of our booth.

Emmas face goes as red as the Weasleys hair, "She forgot all the new writing things she got in France." I say to them.

We walk over to them and I peck George on the lips before sliding into the booth and sitting on the window side of the bench. George sits beside me and Fred beside him. Emma and Walter sit on the opposite bench.

Fred, George, and Walter immediately start talking about quidditch and Emma starts to tell me more about her trip to France. Minus the whole French boy thing, at least for now. About three minutes away from pulling out of the station Lee throws open the booth door and plops down right beside Walter.

"Nearly missed the train because my mum thought it would be fun and interesting to take a side road to get here." Lee says panting. "Violet, Emma, Wally. Weasleys. Nice to see you all."

I take careful notice that Lee used Walters nickname and not anyone else's but I don't point it out. The train lurches forwards thus starting our nine hour trip to Hogwarts.

"What was that book we had to buy for care of magical creatures? I mean who in their right mind would make us by that?" Lee asks the group.

"Who in their right mind would make a book that attacks people?" George responds. "I mean you should have seen the guy at Flourish and Blotts when Violet asked for one."

"Should have seen his face when mum asked for three of them all at once." Fred says. "Wonder who our defense against the dark arts teacher will be this year now that Lockhart is gone."

"Hopefully someone who will actually teach us things. Our OWLs are this year, we need as much genuine teaching as we can get." I say. Fred and George roll their eyes and Lee groans.

"Violet, I love you but for the love of Merlin please never mention the OWLs again. Not till they're over and done with." George says. He kisses my temple and leans on my shoulder.

"Wait. Did you just say you love her?" Fred says looking at his brother. "And to think, I've been making fun of Percy all summer when I could be making fun of you!" He bursts into laughter, causing Lee to start laughing.

George doesn't even move his head when he responds, "How's Angelina?" He says.

Fred immediately stops laughing, but everyone else in the booth does. "I- I assume she's doing fantastic. Not that I pay attention to her much."

"Yeah, only every other week when you wrote to her about how great Egypt was." George mumbles, clearly dozing off to sleep on my shoulder.

The look on Freds face is priceless.


	45. Part 3, Chapter 5

About halfway into our trip, it starts to rain heavily outside, making the booth we are sitting in so much cosier. Emma and Walter are asleep, leaning on each other for support. Fred and Lee are writing down different predictions for the school year, many involving how badly Harry Potter is going to mess up the year for everyone else, or what quidditch incident is going to happen and how much hair Oliver is going to lose because of it.

George and I, on the other hand, spend the time listening off as many words that we can think of that start with the letter Z.

"Zipper"

"Zebra"

"Zesty."

"Zoo."

I hear a soft bang coming from somewhere else in the train. "What was that?" I look out the window into the dark rain.

"Violet that doesn't start with Z, so I win!" George says cheerily.

Fred looks over at us. "Fookin finally, that was so annoying to listen to."

I wave my hand to get them to shut up. "No seriously. What was that?" Everyone stays quiet. Suddenly there it is again, a faint bang coming from far away.

The train lurches, then slowly slows down. "We can't be there already, can we?" Lee says. He gets up from his spot, stepping on Fergus' tail in the process. Fergus hisses and jumps onto my lap to protect himself.

"Oi! Watch my fookin cat Jordan." I say to him stroking Fergus' soft fur.

"No, it's only five o'clock. We get to Hogwarts around eight usually." Fred points out. The train slows down more and more until it comes to a complete stop.

"Washappenin." Walter mumbles, he stretches really big, knocking Emmas head off his shoulder and waking her up too.

"We've stopped. But we aren't anywhere close to Hogwarts." Fred says, catching the two sleepy heads up on what they've missed.

The whole train shakes, Emma screams and grabs onto Walter for dear life. Then the lights go out. "What the fuck is happening?" Walter says clearly freaked out.

"I dunno, I can't see a damn thing." I say to everyone. I wipe some of the fog from the window, cup my hands around my eyes and peer out hoping to spot something. "It looks like someone's coming on board." I whisper.

As soon as I say that the temperature in the train drops like twenty degrees. Ice starts forming on the window. The booth door creaks open slowly. I grab ahold to what I assume is George's hand in fear. A huge skeleton like hand snakes into the room and forces the door the rest of the way open. My eyes can just make out a massive hooded figure standing in the doorway.

No one moves as far as I can tell, not even Fergus who is still curled up in my lap. The figure stays there for a moment before closing the door and moving down the hall. No one says anything for a long time after that.

"Okay I definitely didn't have 'creepy hooded thing stops the Hogwarts train' on my list of predictions." Fred whispers cutting the tension.

"What the fuck was that?" Emma hisses, you know its serious when Emma swears because she tries her hardest not to use that kind of language.

"I feel drained. Like it took my energy. Took the happiness right out of the room." I say in a very hushed tone.

Now I know I'm holding Georges hand because he kisses my knuckles and squeezes it hard. The lights come back on and a mixture of clapping and screams can be heard throughout the train. I look at all my friends faces. Each one of them is pale and full of fear and confusion.

"What the fuck was that?" Emma says again, clearly looking for an answer.

"I think it was a Dementor. One of the guards from Azkaban." Lee says quietly.

My heart beat picks up. Its because of my cousin that it came onto the train. Buy why would a Dementor think that Sirius Black would be on the Hogwarts Express. Unless... unless Sirius is looking for either me or Draco and that's why Uncle Lucius didn't want us to know too much about the situation. But why would he be looking for two of his cousins from a family that disowned him at the drop of a hat?

Then another thought came into my head. My mother and father are in Azkaban. Being watched by those things constantly. My whole body shakes at the thought. If they can make me feel so alone when I'm surrounded by some of the people that I care the most about in the world... how would it feel to be locked away with them. Tears start to well up in my eyes for people I can't even remember, but all of a sudden I can feel their pain, I can feel my connection to them.

"Violet?" George whispers to me snapping me back to reality. All my friends are looking at me with concern. "Are you okay? You sort of disappeared there for a second."

"Yeah, oh no I'm fine. Just thinking about things." I don't say anything else but by the look on George's face he's going to ask me about it when we are alone.

The rest of the ride to Hogwarts was uneventful, thank god for that. George helps me get Fergus back into his cage when we get close to the school and we all take turns changing into our robes. Emma, Walter, and I leave the boys and head back to the Slytherin car at the back of the train.

"Oh I'm sure nothing bad will happen this year Emma. The chamber of secrets was opened and closed, nothing bad is going to happen I'm sure of it." Emma says in a high pitched voice clearly mimicking someone.

"What are you on about?" Walter says, holding the door to the Slytherin car open for us.

Emma huffs. "My mother. She jinxed this whole year so I'll me miserable and agree to be transferred. I swear. I mean seriously? We aren't even at Hogwarts yet and there's a Dementor roaming around?"

Walter and I look at each other and shrug. She's got a point. Ever since Harry Potter started at school everything just went downhill. Well everything at school went downhill. My social life has never been better.

"And now we have to get off the train in the freezing cold rain!" Emma groans. The train slowly comes to a stop at Hogsmeade station and students scramble to get off.

Walter, Emma, and I stand in the middle of the car staring at each other for a second before silently agreeing to step off the train and into the miserable weather outside. The good thing about the Slytherin car, is that its at the end of the train, right beside the spot where the self-drawn carriages line up. I clutch Fergus' cage close to my chest and together we all race towards the nearest carriage. Thankfully, Dumbledore put coverings on the carriages this year so we don't have to sit in the rain all the way to the castle but it doesn't stop the wind and the cold air from getting to us.

I take a small tag from the box on the carriages seat and pull a quill from my pocket. I scribble down my name and my house and attach the tag to Fergus' cage so the house elves know where to bring him during our feast. Rumor has it that one of the seventh year Slytherins that were here when I was in first year forgot to put a tag on their very expensive pure blood toad and Hagrid just released it into the forbidden forest instead of bringing it to the common room.

I put Fergus down in the pile of pet cages in the front hall of the castle and the three of us walk into the great hall for the first feast of the year.

"Thank god they lit all the fires beforehand. I'm bloody freezing."


	46. Part 3, Chapter 6

"Welcome!" Dumbledore says when he steps up to the podium. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast..."

"It's about the fookin Dementor I can feel it," Emma whispers.

Dumbledore clears his throat, "As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the Dementors from Azkaban, who are here on ministry business." The room breaks into murmurs from all the students. Dumbledore waits till the room is silent again before speaking, "They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds, and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises... or even invisibility cloaks."

"No secret late-night rendezvous for Violet this year." Walter shoves me with his shoulder jokingly.

"It is not in the nature of a Dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I, therefore, warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects and our new head boy and girl to make sure that no student runs foul of the dementors."

The room stays quiet. Dumbledore makes sure that he looks at every table carefully before speaking again. "On a happier note. I am pleased to welcome two new professors to our ranks this year. Firstly, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

The room breaks out into polite applause. Professor Lupin, a skinny man, dressed in tattered robes stands up from his chair, waves politely, and sits right back down.

"What's with Snape?" Emma whispers. We all turn our attention to Snape. He looks like he's ready to stab Professor Lupin with his dinner fork. His expression isn't angry, its more than that. Loathing.

"As to our second new appointment." Dumbledore says, "Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his game keeping duties."

Cheering and clapping fills the hall again, most of the noise coming from the Gryffindor table. Dumbledore finishes his speech with some random words he must have learned over the summer break and the feast begins.

"Hey Violet! Do you feel connected with your mother now that both you and her are surrounded by Dementors?" Clarissa shouts from down the table.

I take a deep breath. It's the first day, and fifth year is important. I can't focus on small people like Clarissa. "Ignore her." Walter whispers to me.

"I wouldn't be surprised if one of the Dementors mistakes you for your mother. Isn't Sirius Black related to you as well? Does your family have a punch card with Azkaban or something? Sentence five Blacks and we'll let the sixth one free?"

That does it for me. I grab my wand from my robe pocket and stand up from my seat. I march down the table to her and stick my wand tip on the back of her neck. "Dumbledore will have to send you home for Christmas break in a match box when I'm done with you. Talk about my family like that again and I'll kill you just like the Dark Lord killed your pathetic excuse for an uncle." I whisper in her ear, so quietly that no one else but her could hear what I was saying.

Clarissa stiffens her posture, clearly uncomfortable. I gently kiss her earlobe for extra effect, "Have a splendid year." I straighten my back and saunter back to my spot.

Emma's mouth is wide open when I sit down again, "What did you say to her? I fully watched her skin go pale."

I shrug my shoulders, "Told her that if she keeps speaking ill of my family I'll send her home in a matchbox. Pass the corn please?"

Walter hands me the bowl of corn and I scoop some onto my plate. "I thought we agreed on keeping the death threats to a minimum this year." Walter says to me, half joking, half very serious.

"I'll stop when people stop pissing me off. It's not that hard to do."

The rest of dinner was thankfully uneventful, and by the time the Prefects lead everyone out of the great hall and into our common rooms I can tell the entire school is completely exhausted. I hug Walter goodnight and Emma and I head for our dorm. I see Draco sitting alone by the fire so I tell Emma to head to bed and I'll be there in a second.

"Hey dude. You okay?" I sit beside Draco on the couch.

"That dementor really freaked me out on the train you know. I just don't want anyone else to know." Draco sighs and looks at me, "When you saw it... did it make you feel totally worthless and made you think that no one was there for you?"

I stay quiet for a moment. I've always known that Draco has the fear that he will never be good enough for anyone, and if he makes a mistake then everyone around him will stop talking to him. It's hard for me to watch honestly, because I know that he's just a kind hearted soul trying to make his father proud. "It made me feel like I had no happiness. I felt empty when it left. Made me wonder how my mother feels in Azkaban. How Sirius Black felt before he escaped."

Draco puts his hand on my knee. "We're pretty messed up huh." He says to me making me laugh.

"Get to bed, new year new habits or whatever the saying is." I get up from the couch and stretch my arms out.

"Did you hear that Harry Potter fainted when he saw the Dementor? Sure I almost cried but at least I didn't faint."

I roll my eyes, "Go to sleep. Have a goodnight dumbass."

On my way to my dorm I feel slight pressure on my forearm, signaling that George is writing to me.

LETS ROAM THE HALLS AND TALK ABOUT THE STARS I'LL TELL YOU WHEN TO LEAVE THE COMMON ROOM. MEET ME IN THE BROOM CUPBOARD AT THE END OF THE HALL.

I pull the quill out of my pocket and write back an 'okay sounds good' type message and open the door ti my dorm. Miriam is already fast asleep. Henrietta is reading on her bed, and Clarissa is... polishing her wand? I dunno what she's doing but I ignore her staring at me and go right over to Emma's bed and sit down in front of her.

"So the French boy?" I say poking fun at the news she shared when we were on the train.

Emmas cheeks flush red and she giggles. "Yeah... We spent the entire summer together pretty much, and at the end, before I had to go back to meet my parents for dinner it happened."

We squeal together, drawing attention from Clarissa. "Wasn't it scary though?"

Emma shakes her head, "A little bit honestly, and it sort of hurt in the beginning. But it was a lot of fun. The difference though, you and George live in the same country, go to the same school. It'll be more fun for you two." Emma dramatically winks at me and we squeal again.

"I'm meeting up with him tonight." I whisper to her so no one else can hear me. "He wants to roam the halls and talk about stars apparently."

Emma's eyes light up, "Never would have thought that one of the schools most notorious pranksters would be so romantic honestly."

I smile and wrinkle up my nose, "Neither did I honestly. I'm still a little shocked that we've been going steady for two years already. It feels like a few months if that."

"Time doesn't exist when you're in loooove." Emma pushes my shoulder and we laugh.

Clarissa clears her throat, "Could you keep it down? Some of us are trying to sleep." Not wanting to start anything I say goodnight to Emma and go over to my trunk to get ready for bed.

I don't actually sleep though. I stay wide awake reading my new divination book till about midnight when George writes to me.

HOPE YOU DIDN'T FALL ASLEEP. I'M READY WHEN YOU ARE.


	47. Part 3, Chapter 7

I snatch my quill from my bedside table, dip it into some ink and write back, LEMME JUST GRAB MY ROBE AND SLIPPERS. I throw on my robe and shove my feet into my little slippers and sneak out of my dorm, careful not to make a sound. Thankfully, the common room is deserted. I go over to the door that leads into the common room and write to George. READY. LET ME KNOW WHEN IT'S SAFE. Knowing George he has his map in his hands watching if there are any professors on night duty around.

He responds quickly, NO ONES IN THE DUNGEON. HURRY NOW. I tug open the rather heavy common room door, given its made out of stone and run down the corridor to the broom cupboard as quietly as possible. I open the door and squeeze into the small space with George. The little room being illuminated by his wand.

"God, you're beautiful," George whispers. He cups my face in his two hands and kisses me on the lips, tongue and everything.

I pull away from him and smile, "Nice to see you too." I whisper. "Not that I don't like being this close to you or anything... But can we go somewhere a little less squishy?"

George smiles and pulls the map out of his back pocket. "We can go anywhere you want darling. As long as it's not outside. Rather not deal with another Dementor."

I peek over at the map, "Prefects bathroom? No one ever patrols there do they?" I look at George, his eyes darting from one corner of the map to the other.

"Where's your sense of adventure? Pick a place you've never been to." George says quietly. He brings his wand closer to the map so he can read the names better, making sure there.

I get closer to George and look closely at the map. "Never been into the kitchens before."

George looks at me, "Feeling a bit hungry are we?"

I shrug my shoulders, "Wally took us there one time during third year but we never got to see inside. We just waited in the corridor. It would be nice to get a snack or something and go up to the astrology tower."

"Sounds like a brilliant idea." George quickly explains how we are going to get there I'm not totally lost then he leans up against the back wall of the broom closet and a little hole opens in the wall. We travel through walls and secret passages till we get to the basement, right under the great hall.

George pushes open a little wooden door and crawls out of it, me right behind him.

"Mister Weasley sir!" a shrill little voice says. When I am fully out of the door I stand up and dust off my knees. "Miss Violet!" A small figure comes out of the shadows on the other side of the large kitchen. The house elf is wearing a large purple jumper, shorts, a little knitted hat, and socks.

"Dobby?" I say when the elf gets closer to us. "I didn't know you were here at Hogwarts!"

Dobby, my old house elf comes over to me and I lean down to his eye level and give him a hug. "Dobby is sorry he left without saying goodbye to Miss Violet. But he couldn't stand one more second with ugly, horrible Mister Malfoy. Not one more second." Dobby looks at me in the eye and takes one of my hands in both his small ones. "But Miss Violet was always so kind and loving to Dobby. Showed Dobby that there was good in the world, yes. Lots of good."

My heart fills with happiness hearing that I had such an impact on his life. "Dobby you were a fantastic house elf, and one of my very best friends growing up. I hope Hogwarts is treating you better than my Uncle ever did."

Dobby nods about a million times. "Oh yes Dumbleydore is a very good wizard. He gives Dobby one galleon a week and lets Dobby have one day off every month! Dumbleydore wanted to give Dobby more but Dobby said no! Dobby likes being free very much, but Dobby likes work more!"

I stand up from the ground and George looks at me, "Are we still going to the astronomy tower or would you like to stay here and get caught up?" He asks me.

Dobby looks from George to me, "Is Miss Violet late for something? Dobby would never want to make his friends late!"

"George and I were just going to head up to the astronomy tower is all. Say Dobby, do you have any extra food we could take with us?"

"Dobby has lots of food for Miss Violet! Dobby has bread, and cheese, and apples if Miss Violet wants them!" Dobby rushes off to the cupboard beside the massive blazing fire and comes back with his little arms full of food. "Dobby hopes this is enough for Miss Violet and Mister Weasley."

George takes the food from Dobby, "This is perfect! Thank you for all your help!"

I lean back down and plant a gentle kiss on the top of Dobbys hat. "Thank you for your help Dobby. I'll see if I can come visit you more often. Only if it doesn't mess with your work schedule."

Dobby bounces on the balls of his socked feet, "Dobby would like to see his friend Miss Violet again! Dobby missed her a lot, yes he really did. Have a good night!" Dobby bows low to the ground, so low his large ears brush the floor.

George and I wave goodbye and head back out of the kitchen the way we came in. The little wooden door is apart of an old empty barrel which is rather genius if you ask me.

"I can't believe that Dobby works here now! It's so nice to see him so happy." I say to George as we walk up a flight of stairs that's hidden between the school walls.

"It was adorable you know. Watching you two interact. Made me love you more if that is even possible." George responds, making butterflies appear in my stomach like they normally do when George does something sweet.

When we get to the astronomy tower George has me take the map out of the back pocket of his flannel pyjama bottoms to check if there are any teachers roaming about. When I'm sure the coast is clear, we sneak out from behind one of the portraits hung and race into a small room, closing and locking the door behind us. George hands the food to me, takes off his bed robe and lies it on the ground before taking the food again and sitting down on his makeshift picnic blanket.

I quickly sit down beside him and curl up into his side. The ceiling in this particular room is all glass and completely see through. Though it's still raining heavily outside and we can hear the rain tapping on the walls around us, it's the most beautiful night sky I've ever seen.

"What do you really think about the Dementors being here? And don't you dare give me some watered down 'oh I'm totally okay with it as long as they don't interrupt my OWL studies' bullshit." George says, tearing off a piece of bread from the loaf Dobby gave to us.

I knew this question was coming, the way he looked at me on the train told me he was going to ask me about it at some point. Just didn't think it would be so soon. "Makes me feel connected to my parents in some sick, twisted way. Makes me scared for them, makes me feel sorry for them. Imagine, feeling sorry for people you don't even know. Feeling as if they don't deserve to be locked away with those creatures all hours of the day when you've heard all the terrible things that they've done to others. It messes with your head."

George nods slowly, playing with the piece of bread he took with his fingers. "I'm not going to act like I know how that feels because I don't, and I don't think I ever will." He pauses, looks at me, "But I can imagine its confusing, and it hurts a little bit. I'm sorry you're going through this. I'll always be here to listen, to have a cry with." George looks at me right in the eyes, "I love you Violet."

Everything he says is perfect. His words, the tone of his voice, the eye contact. If I didn't know before, I know now. I love this boy with my whole heart. Without saying anything, I put my thumb and index finger on his chin and slowly guide his lips to mine.

When we connect it feels like it's just us in the entire world. Time stops, the only thing I can focus on is him. I move so I am straddling him like I was at the leaky cauldron, only this time there's no Draco to knock on the door. George breaks the kiss for a moment and looks at me. He doesn't have to say anything, I know what he's asking me. I nod my head and George takes his shirt off and attaches his lips to mine again.

Wanting to be as close to him as possible I undo the buttons on my pyjama shirt and toss it to the other side of the room. He breaks the kiss again and gently moves me to the ground and onto my back. He then moves so he's straddling my waist. "We don't have to do this Violet. Everything is up to you."

Out of breath, butterflies soaring in my stomach I nod, "I want this. But you have to be okay with it all too." I whisper to him.

He takes his hand and places it on my cheek and rubs his thumb on my face.

"Yeah. I want this too."


	48. Part 3, Chapter 8

Memories of last night flood my brain when I wake up for breakfast. After our... well, ya know. George and I ate the food we took from the kitchen and started talking about crazy life theories and what we would do with a million Galleons. He then snuck me back to the Slytherin common room and he made his way back to his dorms.

"So? How was your night?" Emma says, nudging me with her shoulder as we walk out of our dorm and into the common room.

"You were right. It is really fun." I say to her, hoping she can figure out what I'm trying to say.

It definitely takes her a moment but when she gets it she practically screams and slaps my arm really hard. "Where did you...? I mean you couldn't have possibly went to either of your dorms. You definitely didn't come to ours!"

"Happened in the astronomy tower." I say to her with a big smile on my face.

"What happened in the astronomy tower?" Walter asks coming over to us. The three of us walk out of the common room and into the corridor.

"Violet and George! It happened in the astronomy tower last night!" Emma shrieks.

Walter looks at me wide eyed with a smirk plastered on his face. "Damn Violet. That didn't take long at all." He winks at me and throws his arm over my shoulder.

My face heats up and Emma coos, "Do you think he's told anyone?"

We run into George, Fred, and Lee as they come down the stairs. Fred and Lee look at me, look at George, back to me, and start laughing.

"I think that answers your question Em." I say smiling at George.

Fred pats his brother on the back hard. "I'm going to go eat something. Unlike some people standing here, I didn't have a late night snack." He pats George on the back again and him and Lee head off into the great hall.

'Come on Wally, I want to get some toast while it's still warm enough to melt the butter." She grabs Walters forearm and drags him off which is really amusing given Emma is about a foot and a half shorter than Walter.

George and I stand sort of awkwardly in front of each other. "I only told them because they noticed I was gone in the middle of the night. I'm sorry I should have asked if it was okay-" George starts.

I peck his lips so he stops talking. "It's alright, truly. I told Emma and Walter when I should have asked you if it's okay. I'm sorry."

George takes my hand and interlocks his fingers with mine, "It's okay Vi honest. Not like they weren't going to find out about it." George and I walk into the great hall, and with a quick kiss goodbye we go over to our house tables.

"Hey Potter!" Draco's friend Pansy calls from the Slytherin table as I pass by. I look over to the entrance of the great hall and see Ron, Harry, and Hermione walk in together. "Potter! The Dementors are coming! Potter! Wooooooo!" The group of third year Slytherins break into laughter, even I crack a smile at their joke.

"Time table." Emma says giving me a sheet of parchment with all my classes on it.

Emma, Wally, and I spend the rest of breakfast comparing classes and break times. Thankfully, we heave nearly all the same classes, except for ancient ruins.

"We have a spare this morning before charms. Does that mean I can go back to bed?" Walter says after breakfast. We link arms and walk back to the common room to waste time before Flitwick's class.

Emma opens the common room door and we all head inside, "You don't need a nap, you just woke up from a long night rest. If anyone needs a nap its Violet." Emma says.

We sit down by the fireplace and Fergus comes trotting into the room and sits on my lap. "Yeah Vi, what exactly happened last night? Set the scene, fill us in." Walter says wiggling his eyebrows.

I tell them pretty much exactly what happened last night, finding Dobby in the kitchen, going to the astronomy tower. I don't say very much about the actual deed, letting their imaginations run wild. By the time I'm done telling them what happened it's time to go to Flitwick's class. I run into my dorm, pack up some ink, parchment, and the textbook into my shoulder bag and we all head out together.

"As you all know, your OWL exams will take place at the end of the year." Flitwick says once we are all settled into our desks. Fred yawns loudly causing a few snickers throughout the room. Ignoring him, Flitwick continues with his speech, "This year your classes are going to be harder, with more homework, harder spells, but it's one of the most important years. Getting good OWLs means you can take NEWT level classes, meaning you can get a better job in the wizarding world. To take my class next year you must achieve and Exceeds Expectations on your OWL. So study hard, pay attention, do your homework, and make sure you ask questions."

"Well fuck." Emma whispers.

Flitwick hands out a slip of parchment to each of us, explaining exactly what charms we are going to be studying this year.

"Sir? There's twenty-one charms on this list. You don't really expect us to master all of these before the exams do you?" Lee says with his arm waving in the air to get Flitwick's attention.

"Of course I do. You're all bright students. I expect the most." Flitwick says. Lee slumps back into his chair dumbfounded.

And for the next three hours, Flitwick revised the banishing charm, and for once, the twins didn't bother to make a single joke or comment. The entire room was silent except for the scratching of quills on parchment and the gentle clanging of quills in ink pots. By the end of the class my hand is cramped around my quill.

"Okay! For next class I need three feet of parchment on the pros and cons of using the banishing charm and when it should and should not be used. And be prepared for a skills test next class. You must have the banishing charm perfected by then. Class is dismissed." Flitwick says. The room starts to pack up.

"Dunno how I'm going to balance all of my class work with quidditch this year honestly. Three feet of parchment on the first class of the year?" George says to all of us as we walk out of the classroom.

"I did tell you all that fifth year was going to be impossible did I not?" I say jokingly. George ruffles my hair and gently pushes my head away.

"I'm thinking of skipping lunch and heading to the library to get a head start on this composition. Who knows what Professor Lupin is going to give us in his class." Walter says, he shrugs his bookbag higher up on his shoulder.

We all decide that it would be best to start working on the composition as soon as possible, and agree that we will help each other stay on track and on top of things all year long.

By the time our lunch hour is up, I've got a foot and a half of parchment completed where as Fred and George have maybe four words written down between the two of them.

"How about we all just drop out and go live in the mountains somewhere?" Emma says looking between her notes from todays class and the old textbook we found in the library. "I mean who really needs to learn the banishing charm?"

"Well we aren't even really learning the charm, just when and when not to use it." Fred points out.

"Guys this is all revision, we learned the charm last year. We just have to have it perfected. It's honestly not that hard." I blow on my parchment gently, making sure the ink is dry before packing it away.

I stop and everyone is looking at me, "its not that hard honestly." Lee mimics.

I look up at the clock by the library's entrance, "Fuck, Defense starts in like five minutes, we have to go."


	49. Part 3, Chapter 9

"Excuse me Professor Lupin. Can I please borrow Miss LeStrange for a moment?" Snape says, coming into our Defense Against the Dark Arts class halfway through the period.

"Oh yes uhm of course." Professor Lupin says. He gestures at me and I slowly get up from my seat and walk to the back of the class. Snape opens the door again and ushers me out.

"It appears... that your cousin Mister Malfoy... has found a way to injure himself during his Care of Magical Creatures class." Snape says in his slow and drawn out way.

"He...? Is he alright? Where is he?" The worst thoughts flood my brain, he could just have a scratch and is just being his dramatic self, or he could have lost a leg to some creature that oaf Hagrid brought to class.

"He's in the hospital wing now. I'm sure that... Professor Lupin... would let you go see him." Snape says, before leaving me in the corridor alone. My heart is racing, my palms are sweaty.

I pull the classroom door open again and step inside. The class turns to look at me. George's face is a mixture of confusion and worry. "Sir, may I speak to you?" I half-whisper to Professor Lupin.

"Everyone read the chapter on Hex Deflection." Professor Lupin says to the class, he gestures for me to come to his desk at the front of the room.

I walk shakily to the front, I can feel the classes eyes on me as I walk through the desks. "Uhm, my cousin was just admitted to the hospital wing. He- uhm- he got hurt in his Care of Magical Creatures class? I just- I- may I be excused? Emma- she can take notes for me- and well- she can give me-the uhm"

Professor Lupin puts his hands on my shoulders and looks at me, "Calm down. Of course you can leave. Grab your things. I'm sure your classmates can fill you in on what we cover today." He smiles and squeezes my shoulders slightly.

I rush over to my desk and quickly pack up all my things, George grabs my forearm to get my attention, "You okay? What's going on?" He whispers.

I shake my head no and pull my arm away from his grip. I very calmly go the door again, wringing the strap of my bag in my hands. As soon as the classroom door closes behind me I break out into a dead sprint and run towards the hospital tower and up to the fourth floor.

I stop in front of the hospital door and just look at it. My brain is running a mile a minute with the possibilities of what could be behind that door. How much of Draco is left lying on the bed. I breath in through my nose trying to calm my nerves and knock on the door.

Immediately the door is yanked open, Madam Pomfrey staring at me, "Yes?"

My voice gets caught in my throat and I choke out my words, "My cousin... Draco Malfoy? He was hurt during his cla-"

Madam Pomfrey opens the door more, "Best you come in. He's been moaning and groaning for a good long while now. He's going to be just fine."

I gingerly step into the hospital wing and I hear Draco before I see him. A loud groan comes from a bed to the left of the room. I rush over to his bedside and when he sees me he just groans louder. "Violet! He almost killed me! That damned idiot nearly killed me!"

I put my hand on Draco's unbandaged shoulder, "What happened? Who nearly killed you?"

Draco groans and thrashes in his bed a little, "Hagrid! He brought a Hippogriff to show the class and it attacked me! Tore my arm nearly right off my body!"

From the other side of the room Madam Pomfrey snorts and shakes her head. I think back to my third year Care of Magical Creatures class, trying to remember if Hippogriffs are violent by nature or not. "Did they write to Uncle Lucius about this?"

Draco moans and thrashes around again, "I'm in so much pain I can't even think straight. I need some rest."

I nod and pat the top of his head gently, "I'll come visit again if you're still here tomorrow." I say to him. I lean down and kiss the top of his head like Aunt Narcissa used to do when Draco was sick and go speak to Madam Pomfrey.

"uhm. Has my Uncle been informed?" I say to her softly so Draco isn't able to eavesdrop as he loves to do.

Madam Pomfrey sighs and looks over at a vert dramatic Draco, "Yes, Mister Malfoy has been informed, and I'm sure he's going to have a say in how I care for his son..." She trails off like she just remembered who she's talking to. "I mean. Draco will be fine, I'll keep him here over night just in case but he should be out and at breakfast tomorrow morning."

I nod and thank Madam Pomfrey quietly before leaving the hospital wing. I walk right into George Weasley as soon as I leave the room.

"Are you okay? What happened?" George pulls me into his chest without hesitation.

I wrap my arms around his torso and hug him back close, "It's Draco. He got hurt during class. He's fine now though I think."

George rubs my back, "Are you sure you're okay?"

I nod, "Yeah, Madam Pomfrey already wrote to my uncle. It'll be taken care of."

George goes off to his class and leaves me to head to my common room by myself. As soon as I get there Emma and Walter start to bombard me with questions.

After explaining what happened and how Draco is they both seem a lot more relieved with the whole situation. "Would now be a bad time to tell you that Professor Lupin wants us to write a foot long composition by tomorrow afternoon?" Walter says looking at me with raised eyebrows.

"Nah its fine. Hey, do you think Hippogriffs are covered in our monster book of monsters? I need to check something." I say back to them.

Crabbe, Draco's friend that was sitting nearby passes his book of monsters to me, "You have to stroke the spine to calm it down. Can't believe what happened to Draco today. I tried to protect him honest."

I nod to show that I acknowledged what he was saying and gently stroke the spine of the book. It shutters and lies flat in my hands. I open the cover slowly, look at the table of contents and flip to page 24 that talks about Hippogriffs.

"Extremely prideful creatures, blah blah blah. Here! Hippogriffs are dangerous creatures but attacks can be easily avoidable if one does not insult the beast." I read out the book. "So it was Draco's fault he got hurt. The dumbass fookin offended a Hippogriff and now he's paid the price." I close the book and look over at Crabbe. "Oi! Did he? Offend the Hippogriff when he was told not to?"

I give the book back to him and Crabbe nods a little, "Yeah sort of. I mean Harry Potter rode it and he was fine but Draco kind of... called it ugly? Said that if Potter could do it so could he?"

I roll my eyes and massage my temples with my fingertips. "Wow, you're cousin is sort of an idiot isn't he?" Emma says jokingly.

We spend our free period before Divination getting me caught up on what I missed out on in Lupin's class and starting the composition for his class.

By the end of the day we have about ten feet of parchment due all together, and we still have Astronomy at midnight. "Can't we just stay in the hall till we have to go to Astronomy?" Emma moans. The rest of the hall has pretty much cleared out except for the six of us. She leans her head on Lee's shoulder.

"I mean I don't see why not. Though I know that Violet would rather go to the library." Fred says looking up from his stack of messy notes.

George plants a kiss on my temple. "I mean, we have so many things due. I'd rather not waste time walking all the way to the library." I pull out the parchment canister that holds my two unfinished compositions I started earlier today.

We work on our compositions till we have to get up and head out to the Astronomy tower. Fred, Lee, Emma, and Walter joke about George and I returning to the scene of the crime, to which Fred claims that he's going to trop Astronomy because he can't get the image of George and I out of his head.

"Oh grow up. You can't drop Astronomy till next year." George says getting sort of annoyed with his brother.

Fred rolls his eyes dramatically and turns to look at George and I, "Well I can bloody well try to. Better to drop a class than be in the same room that you two decided to do some extracurricular activities."


	50. Part 3, Chapter 10

A week has passed since Draco was hurt by the Hippogriff and today he was finally able to return to classes, though I'm pretty sure he could have returned to classes the day after the incident but if there's one thing that you should know about my cousin is that he's a bit dramatic.

As far as classes and things go, it's been awful. Every single one of my professors has given me a composition that we have to write, and they get longer with every class. George and Fred have been busy with quidditch so I barely see either of them anymore. Not like George and I could sneak out and go on late night adventures with the Dementors roaming around.

Oh yeah, the Dementors. They haven't actually done anything yet. They just float around looking scary. The worst times though is when we are going to or coming back from either Herbology or Flying class. Then we have to pass them, but we can't look to scared or else it will trigger something inside them or something crazy like that.

"Hey beautiful." George hums in my ear before potions class.

I spin around on my stool so I can see my boyfriends face. "Hey love. I've missed you." He steps close to me, meaning he's standing in between my legs. He takes my face in both of his hands and kisses my lips.

"mm I've missed you too. I don't have anything to do after dinner today if you want to bum around or something." George says, still holding my face in his hands.

I lean into his hold and sigh, "We have a transfiguration skills test tomorrow that we both should be practicing for."

George groans and sort of flops his head onto my shoulder, "How about we ditch transfiguration. Just stop going. Then we wont be able to take it next year and we'll have so much more free time on our hands." He grumbles into my shoulder.

I laugh and put my hands in his hair and pet his head slowly, "Right because ditching the class taught by your head of house will be so good for you." I say to him. Emma and Walter walk into the room and sit beside me at the table we normally sit at.

George moves so he's standing up right and looking at me, "Alright. I'll see you after dinner. Meet me.... I dunno, the first year transfiguration class on the sixth floor?"

I take his hands in mine and gently rub my thumbs on the top of them, "Or we could all just get together in the dining hall after dinner and find a place to practice together."

George groans again, "All of us...?"

"All of us. We all have to study. It'll be fun."

Cedric Diggory appears out of nowhere behind George. "Are you lot practicing for the transfiguration skills test tonight? A load of us are meeting up after dinner to practice. Easier to study in numbers right?"

George rolls his eyes so only I can see which makes me smile, "Uh yeah totally. We'll see you then." I say making George look at me as if I just slapped Ginny across the face in front of him.

Cedric clears his throat, "Okay cool. Uhm we are going to meet in classroom 6B, on the uh, sixth floor."

I tell him alright and he goes to sit down with the other Hufflepuffs. "Now look what you've done." George grumbles.

"Oh hush. It's nice to spend time with other people in our year. Now go sit down or else Snape is going to take points away from you." George mumbles an okay and kisses me again before going to sit down with Fred and Lee.

"I can't believe that Cedric Diggory invited you to study with everyone! I don't think he's even spoken to a Slytherin student before!" Emma squeals.

I turn my stool back around and look at her, "He and I have spoken before, I don't see why its such a big deal."

"It's a big deal because you've been invited to hang out with him! Who would have thought that you would be popular. No offense or anything love." Wally says to me.

"Well if I'm going, then all of you are going too." I say pulling out parchment and my potions book. "We go everywhere together."

For the rest of the day Emma would not shut up about seeing Cedric outside of class time. Talking about how she feels its time to move on from her French boy and onto someone that is a little closer by. She totally forgot that technically she wasn't invited, and her and Cedric never had a conversation before. Because that doesn't matter when there's love; her words not mine.

After dinner, Emma, Walter, and I wait by the grand staircase for the twins and Lee. "I can't believe you dragged us into spending time with pretty boy Diggory." Fred says when he sees me.

"Oh come off it. You act like spending time with people our year that's not us is torture." I say to the group.

We all walk up to the sixth floor, we can hear faint music coming from down the corridor. When we get to 6B I push open the door not really expecting much. Instead I found pretty much our entire year in street clothes, listening to loud music, and practicing turning dinner plates into mushrooms.

"Violet! So glad you could come!" Cedric says pushing past a few other students. "George, Fred, Lee. How are you all doing?" The twins mumble a hello. Cedric turns to Walter and Emma, "Oh. Hi guys... well come on in, we have loads of dinner plates, one of the house elves traded plates for some socks." Cedric takes my hand and pulls me into the room. I don't have to see George's face to know he was not happy about that.

Surprisingly I knew pretty much everyone in the room and they knew me. "Patricia hey!" I say to one of my favourite Hufflepuffs.

Patricia Stimpson turns from her friends and comes over to me, "Hey! I'm kinda surprised to see you here honestly. I mean I didn't think this would be your thing."

"I'm always down to hang out with people, I just haven't been invited to things." I say back making her laugh.

I turn around and Emma and Walter are standing awkwardly in a corner, Fred found Angelina and they seem to be having a grand old time talking, and Lee and George seem to be having a rather intense conversation.

"Alright come on." I say to Emma and Walter walking to them. "Loosen up, talk to people, make friends."

Emma looks around the room before talking to me, "Haven't you realized... We're the only Slytherins here."

Even Walter looks uneasy, "It's like so many people who I've never had a conversation with seem to know you some how and no one wants to talk to us."

"I heard there's some red current wine being passed around. Take a few swigs of that and turn some dinner plates into mushrooms."

As if he heard us, Cedric Diggory comes waltzing over with a rather big bottle of red liquid. "Bottoms up." He passes the bottle to me and I take a big swig and pass it to Emma. "Alright LeStrange. 2 galleons I can make more mushrooms than you." Cedric says looking at me.

Emma passes the bottle to Walter, who passes the bottle back to me. I take another deep drink and smack my lips. "You're fucking on Diggory." He laughs and takes the bottle from me and takes a drink before walking over to the pile of dinner plates.

"Violet. What are you doing?" Emma says watching Cedric walk away with wide eyes.

"What do you mean what am I doing? I'm going to go practice for the skills test. Like you should be doing?"

Emma looks at Walter carefully, "I mean what are you doing talking to Cedric like that? George looks pissed off."

I look over my shoulder and sure enough, George is staring at Cedric with so much intensity I half expect him to burst into flames. "Okay but look at George's face. He's jealous, and its hot." I look back at Emma and Walter and wink before turning around and walking over to Cedric and Patricia.

"Alright Diggory. Let's get this over with. I could use a new quill or two." I say trying to make it sound like I'm interested in more than the galleons.

Cedric laughs, "Show me what you got LeStrange."

I take three plates from the pile and line each of them up on the floor side by side. I step back, take my wand out of the back pocket of my jeans and close my eyes. I do what McGonagall always tells us to do, imagine the thing you want your subject to transform into. Know what it looks like on all sides before you cast the spell.

I take a deep breath, aim my wand, and with a quick flick of my wrist the dinnerplate turns into a mushroom right before my eyes. I point my wand at the next plate and do the same thing, and then again. I didn't realize that the entire room was watching until everyone breaks into applause.

"Okay you win. There's not a chance I could do three in a row." Cedric reaches into his front pocket of his jeans and pulls out two galleons and puts them in my hand, his fingertips linger a little longer than they should.

That does it for George apparently, because in one quick movement he crosses the room, puts one hand on my waits, the other in my hair and pulls me in for a kiss. A hard, passionate, kiss. The room breaks into cheers and whistles. George pulls away from me as fast as he kissed me and smiles. Then he looks at Cedric, "Sorry mate, can't help it sometimes. My girlfriend is just really hot you know?"

Cedric looks at me, then at George, who looks rather intimidating at the moment, especially since George is so much taller than Cedric. "No yeah, she's- uhm... she's a pretty talented witch." Cedric nods and moves over to his Hufflepuff friends Patricia, Liam, Holly, and Alex.

I look at George who is still clearly tense, his jaw clenched. "Wow Weasley. Never thought of you as the jealous type."

George turns to me, kisses my forehead, and hugs me close to him. "Jealous? Dunno what you're talking about."


	51. Part 3, Chapter 11

"Violet, did you hear? Professor Lupin taught the third years about boggarts by actually making them face one?" Emma says to me as we are sitting in the common room.

"Heard about it? Draco would not shut up about how many teachers have been putting him in danger recently. He's still moping around with his arm in that bloody sling because it gets the attention of Pansy." I say. I look up from my ancient ruins textbook and over at Draco. Who as usual is being coddled by Pansy while Crabbe and Goyle just stand around watching. "It's disgusting. If I ever swoon over George like that I want you to blow my head off okay?" I say looking back at Emma.

"By the looks of things, George is the one that does all the swooning." Emma jokes, she playfully kicks my textbook out of my hands with her socked foot.

I reach down to the ground from my spot on the couch I'm sharing with Emma and grab my textbook. I look at her and stick out my tongue, "That's not true at all. George and I are two separate people, living our separate lives."

"Okay but when you and George are together, you look like Draco and Pansy. Which is... gross because Draco is in third year and allowed to act like that. You're in fifth year now."

I look back over at Draco who is now having Pansy write notes for him. "Draco doesn't even fancy Pansy. He just likes attention. Attention that Potter isn't giving him."

"Oh? Draco and Potter?" Emma says wiggling her eyebrows.

"I didn't mean it like that. Draco's just been going after Potter's attention since he's started at Hogwarts and he's never gotten it. I feel that they could be good friends if Draco wasn't such..."

"Such an asshole?"

I look at Emma and raise my eyebrows, "Not what I was going to say but yeah I guess. He is an asshole if you don't know him."

Walter comes into the common room from his dorm and plops onto the couch in between Emma and I.

"If I have to hear Cassius and Miles talk about which girls they want to see shirtless one more damn time I'm going to end it all." Walter groans leaning back into the couch.

Emma perks up, "Miles? He's single again?"

Walter groans and takes the pillow from behind him and shove it to his face. "no, absolutely not." He says into the pillow.

"You know what we should do? Go watch the Gryffindor quidditch team practice. Violet gets to see her boy toy and I can look at Oliver for a few hours." Emma suggest. Given it's a Saturday none of us really have any big plans.

"But that means I would have to get dressed. And I really don't want to do that." Walter says, finally taking the pillow away from his face. Only then do I notice that he's walking around in a t shirt and his boxers.

"I mean technically you don't have to get dressed. You could just get teased for the rest of your educational career here. Come on lets go. What else do we have to do?" Emma says taking the pillow from Wally and hitting his shoulder with it.

"Oh I dunno, do all of our homework so we can stay on top of our classes like we are supposed to do? Or rewrite our notes so they are easier to study from in a few months when we really need to?" I say casually.

Emma tosses the pillow at me hitting me in the face. "Go find shoes so we can go see your stupid boyfriend ride around on a stupid broom." She says to me.

Walter goes off to get dressed and I shuffle into my dorm to find a pair of sneakers I can wear without taking off the big green socks Molly sent me for my birthday last year. I take my bookbag down from one of the posters of my bed and shove my ancient ruins textbook in it so I can study a bit while I watch the practice. Since last year Oliver has been easier on me watching the practices. According to George and Fred I have gained his trust and therefore he is now fine with me and my friends watching and supporting his team. It also helped when George told him that I don't know the difference between a bludger and a quaffle which isn't true but whatever gets me on Oliver's good side.

When we are all ready we head out of the common room and head towards the door in the dungeons that leads outside. Before we go outside though we all stop and just stare at the door. "There's a dementor on the other side of this door." I say.

"There's dementors outside every door leading out to the castle. What are you gonna do? Just never leave unless its for a class?" Emma says. She pushes me towards the door. "Open it. Face your fears."

"You just want me to open it because you don't want to be the first one to go outside." I say to her. "Besides, I look like my mother, they could mistake me for her. I think you should be the first one to go."

Walter pushes past the both of us, "You people are so annoying, why do I even hang out with you." He swings open the door and steps outside, we both follow him.

"Because you love us." I say. I make the mistake of looking up above the door and am face to well... hole with the dementor. I quickly look away, grab Emma and Walters arms and drag them further away from the dementor.

"And to think. All this because my stupid cousin got himself locked away in Azkaban. I don't even know fully what he did. Uncle Lucius won't tell me anything." I say when we are far enough away from the castle.

"Wait. You don't know what he did?" Walter says, slowing his walking pace.

"Nope. Though I never really ask Uncle Lucius much questions. I just do whatever he says pretty much and only speak if I'm spoken to. Easier to live with him that way." I say shrugging my shoulders.

"He was the Potters secret keeper. Then he told someone where they were which lead to the Dark Lord finding and killing them. He also killed thirteen people with the blasting curse. I thought you would have known that." Emma says looking around Walter so she can see me.

I feel weird knowing that information, "Not surprising to be honest. That does sound like a very Black family thing to do."

Emma and Walter drop the subject. Not like there's much to say after that though. What happened happened and there's nothing anyone can do to change it. When we get to the quidditch pitch and climb up one of the big towers I can see George's face instantly light up. Thankfully it has been a rather nice September, no rain so far, and the pretty fall colours are just starting to pepper the forbidden forest.

"Oliver Wood's never going to notice me is he." Emma sighs sitting down beside Walter.

"I might be able to talk to him if you'd like me to. But he is leaving Hogwarts this so it won't really be a long romance." I say to Emma.

Emma sighs long and hard. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be fussing over boys. This year is important for learning and things."

Walter and I exchange a look. Emma and I have been best friends for five years now, and not once has she ever put schooling before the attention of boys. Never. "That's real big of you Em. I'm proud." Walter says clapping her shoulder with his hand.

"Now I can just focus on finding Walter a girlfriend. I'm sure that will be a lot easier anyways. Cause Wally's a giant." Emma says looking at Walter.

Walter looks at me, he's clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation. Then he takes a deep breath and says. "Actually, I don't really need help on the girlfriend front."

Emma stops and stares at him, even I tilt my head a little and look at him confused. "What do you mean? Do you have a secret girlfriend sneaking abouts the school?"

Walter clears his throat a bit. "Not a girlfriend no. Sort of like a boyfriend...?" he says.

Emma blinks a few times, like she's trying to restart her brain. "Alright, a boyfriend. Who is it?" She says smiling at him.

Walter looks like someone just gave him a million galleons. "Not technically my boyfriend yet, but we have been spending a little more time together recently. Took a page out of Violet's book and started seeing him after curfew."

Emma and I both shriek. I knew that Walter was gay, he told me last year, then I told him I' bisexual. Very adorable moment honestly. But this, sneaking around with a boy. This is news to me. "Alright now you have to tell us who it is!" I say to him.

Walter is fully blushing now but his smile falters a little. "I want to. I really want to but he's not out yet and I don't want to do that to him. That's kind of why we've been sneaking about. So that no one sees us together. That and I don't want to be completely destroyed by the boys in my dorm. Merlin knows they'd bully me. More so than they do now."

Emma nods, "I completely understand. You know. I never thought of that. Dating the same gender as me. I mean, boys are such a waste, no offense Wally, but girls... they seem so much more in tune with their emotions."

"Have you ever looked at a girl and felt the same way you do when you look at boys?" I ask her.

Emma pauses for a moment to think, "No I guess not. Which is a shame really because liking boys is the worst thing, again, no offense Wally dear."

"None taken Em." Wally says smiling. "Look Vi, your boy is doing tricks." Walter juts his chin forward at the practicing quidditch players.

Sure enough George is soaring around the pitch doing spins and completely showing off. I holler and clap and Emma and Walter join in cheering and whistling. When George notices that he's getting the attention he obviously wanted he stops and focuses his attention back on his quidditch captain.

"He's really that desperate for your attention huh?" Emma says to me.

"Cut him some slack, we haven't seen each other like at all since the first day of school." I reply, my eyes trailing George as he and Fred start hitting a bludger back and forth.

"What do you mean haven't seen each other at all? He's in nearly all your classes." Walter says his eyes flicking from the quidditch players to us.

"Like, it hasn't been just us in a while. I love you all don't get me wrong but its always me, George, and Fred. Or me, George, and you Em. Or its all of us getting together and practicing magic with the rest of our year. And I love those moments I really do. But school is really the only time we actually get to be together, cause when summer hits we stop talking except for a few written messages late at night."

The studying with the rest of our year thing has become the norm. Every Tuesday and Friday night, nearly all the fifth years meet up in classroom 6B, drink some booze that someone stole from their parents or their older sibling mailed to them and we practice charms and do our homework and listen to music. Asking questions when we need to, so all of us actually pass our OWLs.

"Hang out with him tomorrow. I promise we won't bother you." Walter says.

I take a deep breath, "I can't though. We have that Herbology composition due Tuesday and I still haven't finished my first draft."

"How's about you and George just do it together? Find a quiet corridor or a secluded corner of the library. Two birds one stone." Emma says. "I'll even help you do your make up so you look stunning. But you might want to wash and brush your hair. I mean seriously I think there are pixies living in that thing." She takes a lock of my very messy, and very long hair in her fingers and holds it up.

"Oi" I snatch my hair back from Emma and she laughs, "Do you know how long it takes me to wash and dry this shit?"

"If you start now, you'll be ready to go to the library tomorrow."


	52. Part 3, Chapter 12

I take Emma's advice and wash and brush my hair before I meet up with George in the library. I opt out of getting a total makeover from Emma, makeup has never really been my thing.

"Have fun!" Emma sings after me when I leave the common room with my books and things. I don't waste much time getting to the library. I find a secluded spot in a dark corner, pull out all my things and start working.

"Hey!" George calls from behind me. He comes up and ruffles my hair and sits to my right.

As soon as I see his face my heart starts beating faster. The way his freckles pepper his nose, how his hair falls to his eyes and he keeps brushing it away but it doesn't do anything. The way his whole body fills with every breath he takes. "Vi? You good over there?" His voice cuts through my thoughts.

I lean towards him and kiss his lips, "I'm fantastic. Just looking at my boyfriend." I mumble into his lips.

George laughs and ruffles my hair again, which I've learned is how the Weasleys show love and affection. "How about we just skip writing this composition and find something else to do?"

I hum softly, "We have to do this composition. The faster we get it done the more time we have to do whatever we want."

George groans but he opens his textbook and pulls out a crumpled roll of parchment from his bag. "You've got to be kidding me. That's how your composition looks?" I watch as George rolls open a very crumpled, flattened, and wrinkled parchment.

"Its Professor Sprout, she doesn't care!" He says proudly of himself.

I roll my eyes, which bothers George because 'it feels like I spend more time looking at the whites of your eyes than your actual eyes'. "She cares, she just loves you and Fred so she doesn't say anything." I open my textbook to Mandrakes.

"I don't even get why we have to study Mandrakes again. Especially after last year. Like we get it, they can de-petrify people." George says looking at his textbook.

"Because they are going to be a big part of our OWLs and we have to make sure we know every aspect of them." I say matter of factly.

"No one likes a smart ass Violet." George jokes.

"I beg to differ, I think you love a smart ass."

By five o'clock, George has ink smudge all over his face, and I have fully completed my first draft of my composition. George looks like he just ran three laps around the castle. "How did you manage to get ink virtually everywhere." I use the sleeve of my jumper to wipe at the ink smudges on George's cheek.

"Haven't you noticed? I'm a child." George scrunches up his nose and leans away from me a little, "And you're acting like my mum."

We pack up our things and head down to the dining hall hand in hand. "Sorry if you thought that spending the day with me was boring." I say to George as we walk down the stairs. "I just really need to stay on top of all my work this year. I can't have anything that Uncle Lucius could use against me in an argument you know?"

George swings our interlocked hands up to his mouth and kisses the top of my hand gently, "I don't care what we do Violet, as long as you and I are together."

"Next week is the first Hogsmeade trip. We'll have the entire day to do whatever we want. No studying, no school work. I promise." I say to him when we reach the ground floor.

George spins me around so I'm facing him, "I love you." He says smiling from ear to ear. He kisses me hard. "I gotta go meet Fred and Lee. I'll see you in class tomorrow." He kisses me again and dashes off to the great hall.

"So I'm going to take a wild guess and say your day was good?" Emma and Walter say coming out of the dungeons.

I turn to look at my friends, "I mean we got our compositions done. And George managed to get half his ink pot on his face. But I dunno if it would be considered a good day. He says he just wants to be in my presence and be together and I love that but I always feel that we need to do something."

We start walking into the hall for dinner, "That's not true though. You don't have to always be doing stuff. Sometimes you can just take a nap together and eat pumpkin pasties." Walter says casually.

"Well I know that but I always feel bad when I force George to study." I say. We sit down at the Slytherin table and plates appear in front of us, "Makes me feel like his mother."

Emma starts to fill her plate with food, "Some people like that you know. Girls pretending to be their boyfriends mum." She glances up at our shocked faces, "What? It's a thing."

Walter pretends to gag, "Okay but why do you know about it?" I ask her.

Emma rips her bun in half and dips it into her tomato soup, "Its common knowledge. Just like there's some people that like playing as like a father and a little girl. Its weird but it's a thing."

"I can promise you right now that George does not like any of those things." I say to her. I pour some tomato soup into the bowl in front of me.

Em dips the other half of her bun in her soup and shoves it into her mouth, "As far as you know." She mumbles.

The week leading up to the first Hogsmeade trip and the Halloween feast was busy and full of homework, with absolutely no spare time to see anyone other than the people in my house. On the Saturday Emma and I wake up early and figure out what we are going to wear. Emma opts for a cute dark green dress with thigh high socks and I settle for black dress pants, a baggy grey blouse, and a pair of kitten heels.

"Violet! Do you have the money mother and father gave us? I need ten galleons." Draco comes up to me in the common room.

"Ten galleons? What are you trying to buy?" I ask, pulling money out of my purse and handing it to him.

"Just uhm- stuff. Thanks Vi!" Draco dashes back over to his friends and they all walk out of the common room.

Emma looks at me, "Your aunt and uncle really send you to school with ten galleons each?"

I shrug my shoulders. "That's what we start off with. But if we need more we can just write to them and they'll send us more. It's their way of showing that they care without actually having to care you know?"

Walter comes out of his dorm looking absolutely adorable in blue jeans, a sweater vest, and a little bowtie. "Ready to go?"

We walk to the courtyard where we meet McGonagall and a few other teachers. The courtyard is full of excited third years getting ready for their first Hogsmeade adventure and a bunch of older students counting their money to make sure they get the most bang for their buck. The three of us walk over to Fred, George, and Lee.

"Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dumb, and Tweedle Dumber I've missed you." Emma says when we reach the boys.

"Nice to see you too Em." Fred says. He quickly looks her up and down and smiles to himself. I look at him with raised eyebrows and he goes red.

"I have dibs on Tweedle Dee." Lee says. He smiles at Walter which makes Wally go red in the face. Again something only I seem to notice.

McGonagall claps her hands to get our attention, "Hello everyone! Older students who have been to Hogsmeade before can follow Professor Burbage out of the courtyard. Third years please stay here, I have to go over a few ground rules."

Professor Burbage heads out of the courtyard and the older students follow suit. We split off into pairs, Fred and Emma, Wally and Lee, and George and I. "Have you noticed that Fred and Emma have been... hanging out recently?" I ask George.

George looks forward a bit at his brother and Emma walking rather close together up ahead of us. "Dunno, he doesn't like feelings very much so he tends to not talk about them. Never thought that he would go for someone like Emma though. Doesn't seem like his type."

"Well did I seem like your type when we first started dating?" I ask George slightly bumping into his side a bit.

George laughs, "Smart, talented, hot, dark and twisty, with loads of family based trauma?" I slap George's arm and he laughs louder, "Yes Violet, you've always been my type. But Emma is more of a- I dunno, a girl."

I slap him again, "And I'm not a girl." I say teasing him.

"You're just. More of a dude girl. Like Emma wouldn't start a food fight at Christmas dinner you know? She would just complain that there was potatoes in her hair."

He's got a point, Emma definitely isn't someone that I would see Fred with, but at the same time doesn't that mean that they would work well together? "Have you noticed that Walter and Lee have been spending more and more time together?" George says.

"I guess yeah."

George starts to swing our interlocked hands really aggressively making us both laugh, "That's a couple I can see happening. Wally and Lee." George says.

I look at him, "Is Lee...?"

George shakes his head, "He hasn't told us anything but I know him, he's like a brother to me. He'll tell me when he's comfortable but I know what's going on. He's also not being very secretive, sneaking out of the dorm nearly every night."

We finally get to the edge of the Hogwarts property. Professor Burbage opens the gate to Hogsmeade village and we all file through. "So I need to go to Zonkos. Then we can go to Madam Puddifoot's tea shop with everyone or something." George suggests when we finally reach the village.

"I know Em wants to go to Gladrags for some new clothes. I can meet you in Zonkos when we are done there?"

George kisses my forehead softly, "Sound's like a plan love. I'll see you then."


	53. Part 3, Chapter 13

After about two hours of waiting for Emma to try on basically everything in the store, she settles on a pair of black pleated pants and a new pair of silver high heels. I buy a few pairs of really colourful socks, planning on giving them to Dobby next time I see him.

Emma and I then go into Zonkos to find the boys, I never understood boys obsessions with pranks and things." Emma sighs looking around the joke shop. "I mean you could use your time and energy to do something so much more worthwhile you know?"

I look at Emma, "No I really don't. Remember who I'm dating?" And as if he heard me George comes over to us, a smile spread halfway across his face.

"Hey! Come on, lets go find some stink pellets, I'm nearly out." George says grabbing my hand and pulling me through the store.

Fred, Lee, and Walter are standing by a wall full of nose biting teacups and shrinking spoons talking about what teacher they could send them to.

"Which is better? Stink pellets or dungbombs?" I ask George as he stares at the shelf full of smelly prank toys.

George smiles, clearly excited about me taking an interest in his favourite thing, "Depends on what you want to use them for of course." He then goes off on a tangent explaining the pros and cons to each smelly prank object, and convincing me to buy some for myself.

The boys take forever in the joke shop so we don't end up having time to go to the tea shop like I wanted to. But it's fine, I'd rather see George happy doing what he loves to do then sit there awkwardly and drink tea and eat small sandwiches. The group was a lot quieter on the way back to Hogwarts, everyone tired and happy.

George and I walk hand in hand with the rest of our friends. All but Emma who is walking with Miles Bletchley up ahead a little. "Oh! I nearly forgot. Happy Halloween everyone!" Lee says excitedly.

"Happy Halloween." I say back to him.

Fred turns around and walks backwards so he is facing us, "Let's do something tonight. Sneak out, play hide and seek. Something fun."

"The fifth years are planning a Halloween party. I kind of want to go." I say looking at everyone.

George stiffens up, "and who told you that?"

I squeeze his hand and kiss his arm, "Roger Davies." I look at everyone's faces, none of them particularly excited about the idea. "Oh come on you guys. It's a costume party. We get dressed, sneak out to the room of requirement, drink, dance, have some genuine fun."

"Room of requirement?" Fred says, "never saw that on our map."

"Liam Grooves found it last week. Then the fifth year Hufflepuffs decided to host a party there. It's going to be fun guys please." I whine.

"I'm down honestly. It will be fun." Walter says. Everyone else agrees reluctantly.

After the Halloween feast nearly all the fifth years are talking about the party happening. Unlike our study sessions all the Slytherins in our year have been invited which means it could either go extremely well or horrifically bad.

"What are you going to go as Em?" I question when we are all back in our respective dorms.

Emma turns around dramatically and smiles, "A kitty! I'm going to make my hair look like ears, and paint whiskers on my face! Isn't that just the cutest thing ever!" She squeals.

"Not very origional I don't think but yeah that's pretty cute." I pull open my trunk and pull out a Gryffindor tie that I stole from George last summer, "I'm going as a sexy Gryffindor." I put the tie around my neck and loosen it a bit so it hangs a lot lower than it should.

Emma squeals, "You should jinx your hair to be red, really freak out George."

I stop and look at her, "If I jinx my hair red I'd look like Ginny. And that is not something I want to be apart of." I say. Emma screams in laughter.

I brush out my hair and pull it all up into a high pony tail, using a red scrunchie that Angelina let me borrow one time. I then put on a white button down shirt only buttoning the middle three buttons, put on my school skirt, pull on some knee high white socks and put my feet into black sneakers.

Emma works for hours perfecting her cat like makeup which I really don't see the need for but she wants to make it perfect so I let her have her fun. At around ten-thirty that night, half hour after curfew all the fifth year Slytherins meet in the common room in their costumes.

Graham managed to bewitch a telescope to bend, and flatten every which way and it still works so he shoved it through the crack in the common room door and peers out to make sure there's no staff roaming around. Once he's sure and certain no one is around he opens the door and we all make a run for the staircase. It's a miracle we aren't seen by anyone. Eleven loud Slytherin students racing up seven flights of stairs does tend to draw a lot of attention from people.

We all follow Graham to the hidden entrance of the room of requirement. He paces back and forth in front of the wall three times, muttering about the fifth year party. The stone wall morphs into a wooden door. He opens it and instantly music floods the corridor. We all run inside and he closes the door behind us.

There are decorations hanging from the ceiling, steams of black and orange fabric swaying in the air. Jack O' Lanturns are being carved along the back wall by some students. Music by the Hobgoblins blaring through some speakers that have been set up.

Emma grabs me and Walters hands and yanks us towards the drink table that is set up. She pours us all big cups of Knotgrass Mead and forces us to clang our cups together, "Happy Halloween!" She shouts. The whole room cheers and says it back, raising their glasses into the air.

"Bloody hell." George whispers into my ear from behind me. I turn around to face him, nearly spilling my drink everywhere.

"Weasley. How are you?" I say to him. I take a big drink from my cup and lick my lips clean.

George watches my every movement with a specific level of intensity that I've only seen a few times, "You're right. This party was a very good idea." He says to me smirking. Emma cuts in and hands George a drink which he downs in one gulp.

He then grabs my hand and pulls me to the middle of the room where everyone is dancing. He puts his hands on my hips and I put my arms around his neck, careful not to spill what's left of my drink down his back. We start to sway in beat with the people around us. It's to loud to talk so we just dance, swaying our hips close together.

I look behind George's head and see Fred and Angelina talking in a corner, standing very close together, each of them holding a cup of something in their hands. I keep watching, I watch as Fred kisses her cheek carefully. "Your brother just kissed Angelina." I whisper into George's ear.

"He did what?" He tries to turn his head around to see but I tighten my grip on the back of his neck with my hand that's not holding my drink.

"Don't do that you'll scare him off. They're just talking again, but he kissed her on the cheek." I whisper to him. I look back at Georges face and he's smiling.

"Not the only one that's kissing someone. Wally and Lee are in the corner over here. Looks like they're sucking each others faces off." George whispers to me.

I spin George around so I can see and sure enough Walter and Lee are making out in the corner far away from everyone else, "Fookin hell. Look at my boy go." I say to George.

"He told us on the way up here that him and Wally were seeing each other. They're adorable I think." George says.

I look at Georges face. He's pre-occupied watching Fred and Angelina talking in the corner. I take the moment to appreciate everything about him. Everything about this moment. The loud music making the floor vibrate. My friends going after people they like, living their lives to the fullest. People in my year bumping against us as we all just get drunker and drunker as we dance around to the music.

Hours pass, the music gets quieter, people start to head back to their common rooms as quietly as possible. George and I are both on our seventh drink, we sway slowly in the middle of the room, leaning on each other for balance support. Fred and Angelina have left the room, together. Wally and Lee are dancing around together. Emma is no where to be seen.

At about four in the morning Wally comes over to me and touches my shoulder. "We better make our way back to the common room. Let's hope Emma is already there." He says, clearly the more sober one out of the two of us.

"Alright. Bye Georgie." I say to my boyfriend.

George laughs and kisses the tip of my nose. "Night beautiful."


	54. Part 3, Chapter 14

I didn't wake up till noon on Sunday, neither did any other fifth year Slytherin for that matter. When Walter and I got back to the common room Emma was already asleep in her four poster.

The day flies past in a blur of headaches and half baked stories of last night. When Wally and I ask Emma where she went off to last night she just breaks down into tears and moans about Miles making out with Amanda Ball a Ravenclaw girl that apparently he fancies.

When it's time for dinner Wally, Emma, and I walk barefoot and still in our pyjamas to the great hall. "Violet, are you really going to walk around the castle looking like that?" Draco says coming up behind me with his friends following close behind.

I look at him with my eyes squinted, "Your friends should see you without your hair brushed on a morning." His friends snicker and Draco huffs. I ruffle his hair with my hand and his friends laugh harder.

"I wish father sent me to Durmstrang, that way I wouldn't have to deal with you." He grumbles picking up his walking pace. His friends push past us and chase after him.

"Who elected him to be the leader of the third years." I say to my friends watching Draco and his group enter the great hall.

"Dunno Violet. But he's sort of cute." Emma says.

Walter makes sort of a coughing noise, "I'll see you two in the hall." He dashes off before either of us have time to react.

"Don't. Do not talk about my baby cousin like one of your boy toys. Please." I say to Emma.

Emma laughs, "Oh Violet don't worry! There's not a chance in the world that I would even consider that."

I squint my eyes slightly and look at her carefully, still not fully trusting a word she says, "Because if you do... I'll have to kill you. No ifs ands or buts about it."

Emma playfully punches my arm, "Course I know dummy. I'm serious, don't worry about me. I won't do anything.

Dinner was boring, not like I want an eventful dinner though. After dinner is when things start to get interesting. Snape comes bursting into the common room almost as soon as we all get back into it. "Everyone follow me. You're spending the night in the great hall." He says.

"Bloody hell." Walter grumbles. We all follow Snape back out to the corridor and right back into the great hall that we were sitting in not five minutes before. All of the Gryffindors are standing there with their mouths wide open. The Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs stream into the great hall after us.

"What the hell did you lot pull now." I say to George. Walter goes over to Lee and gives him a rather protective hug.

George puts his hands in the air as a type of surrender, "Don't look at me, we didn't do anything. It's your cousin that did something."

"No no, that doesn't make sense. Draco was in the common room with us." Emma says looking at George.

"Not Draco. Sirius Black." Lee says.

Our group goes quiet. Everyone sort of looking at me like they are waiting for an explanation of some sort. But I have nothing. I feel completely useless in this situation. It feels like the world is going a mile a minute and everyone is yelling at me to go faster, to keep up with everyone else but my feet are stuck to the ground. My feet are stuck to the ground and I'm melting.

"Oi, don't look at her like that. She doesn't have a clue what's happening just like the rest of us." George says finally. He takes my hand squeezes it tightly.

Dumbledore comes into the room and everyone falls silent. "The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle!" He says loudly. "I'm afraid that, for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here. I want the prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the hall and I'm leaving the head boy and girl in charge."

"Percy must be loving this." Fred whispers.

Dumbledore clears his throat and continues. "Any disturbance should be reported immediately." Dumbledore looks over the sea of very confused faces. "Oh right, I suppose you'll be needing these." He waves his wand casually and the tables and benches soar to the sides of the room and stack themselves against the walls. He waves his wand again and hundreds of squishy purple sleeping bags cover the floor. "Sleep well." He says. He and the teachers then leave the great hall, and for the first time that I've seen, the doors to the great hall are closed tightly.

We all grab sleeping bags and claim a corner of the room for ourselves. Despite Percy's yelling no one goes to bed right away. "What exactly happened? How do you know that it was really Sirius?" Walter says. Him and Lee are sitting side by side leaning against the wall. Walters arm over Lee's shoulders gently.

"Our common room door was ripped to shreds. The Fat Lady, she ran from her portrait and hid somewhere else. Told Dumbledore that Sirius wanted into the common room and she wouldn't let him because he didn't know the password." Fred explains to us all.

"But why would he want to get into the Gryffindor common room?" Emma asks, curling up into herself. "He was a Black. He was a Slytherin. I don't get it."

"He wasn't a Slytherin." I say, everyone snaps their heads towards me. I unfold myself from George so I'm sitting alone. "He was a Gryffindor. Ran away from home when he was still in Hogwarts. He got tired of his mother, got tired of his family. And in turn, his family... our family disowned him." I take a shaky breath and look at my friends.

"Well now that really doesn't make sense. If he was in Azkaban for working with He Who Shall Not Be Named, then he wouldn't have run from his family. He would have been your typical Black right?" George asks me, his eyes full of worry.

"It doesn't. Because from what I know, what I've overheard at family dinners and such, he hated the Dark Lord and his family for associating with him. Selling someone out to the Dark Lord, killing people for the Dark Lord. Doesn't make sense at all." I say. George, Fred, and Lee apparently all take note that I've said the Dark Lord instead of He Who Shall Not Be Named because they all get visibly uncomfortable. It's a hard habit to break, being raised calling him the Dark Lord, learning to praise him before I could speak properly.

"But wouldn't that mean. I mean no offense Violet... but if he's got such an intense hate towards his family... Wouldn't he want to go after his family? I mean you're seven floors below where he was trying to get into." Lee says.

George instinctively grabs my hand, in his attempt to protect me. "I really don't know. He was a Gryffindor so maybe he hid something in the common room or his old dorm that he needs for some reason...?" I half whisper.

George pulls me in close to him again and I instantly fold into him, the tension in my body completely disappearing. "Let's stop talking about this now. We can either talk about something else or we can just go to bed but let's not talk about this anymore." George says to all of our friends.

We break into our own little conversations. Emma crawls into her sleeping bag and starts to play eye spy with Fred. Lee and Walter fall asleep, each in their own individual sleeping bags but they are still cuddled close together.

"You're okay right?" George whispers to me.

I unzip my sleeping bag, "Don't worry about me, you're the one who's common room nearly got broken into."

George grabs my arm to get my attention, "I'm going to worry about you. I'm going to worry about you every single day, especially when crazy cousins break out of Azkaban. You can't tell me when I can worry about you and when I cannot." George's eyes dart around my face looking for a response, "I love you and I plan on loving you for a long time. And you're just going to have to deal with that. Okay?"

I nod, smile, and kiss the tip of his nose, "Okay. I love you too."

George grabs his sleeping bag, and he manages to zip them together so we can both fit in the same one. We curl up together and George zips us in so we stay warm. "This is the most ridiculous thing I've been apart of." I whisper to him.

He shimmies so we are facing each other, our noses touch cause we are so close. "I think this is the best idea I've ever had." He whispers back to me. I laugh and he covers my mouth with his palm, "Shh Percy is going to hear you and he'll write to my mum about this."

I lick the palm of his hand and he moves it away in disgust. "Molly loves me, she wouldn't care about this." I whisper.

George laughs quietly, "Trust me, she'd send a howler tomorrow if she could see us right now."

"We should probably get some sleep." I whisper.

George rolls his eyes, "Yeah we really should. You know, I didn't expect our first night in the same bed to be spent like this necessarily."

I stick my tongue out and touch his nose with it. "Technically, this isn't a bed."

"Technically we haven't even been in a bed before. I dunno about you but I'm starting to get used to the floor." He whispers, his voice dropping a few octaves.

"That was awful." I mumble

"Oh yeah?" George whispers making me laugh. Instead of his palm this time he shuts me up with a kiss.


	55. Part 3, Chapter 15

For the next week, no one talked about anything but Sirius Black. Which meant that everyone started to give me and Draco strange looks as we pass them in the hallways. Draco loves the attention, he thrives off of the fear and confusion of others and it shows.

I, on the other hand, hates any and all attention from people that I can't control, that I can't manipulate. It's easy controlling the attention you receive from others. People watch me as I talk to Gryffindor students, people watch me as I master skills tests, as I climb to the top of all my classes. That is attention I can control. But this? Being judged by people who don't know me based on my family? That, I don't like.

"Draco. You hurt your arm nearly three months ago. You can play quidditch." I say to my idiot cousin as I try to help him understand his history of magic notes in the library.

"Have you seen what it's like outside? There's no way in hell I'm going to fly in that." Draco says to me. He points with his 'injured' arm at the window nearby. The sky is dark, the winds are howling so loud you can hear them through the stone walls. A crack of thunder makes the walls shake and a flash of lightning brightens the entire library. "See? You really want me, your favourite cousin, to fly in that?"

I roll my eyes and point at his notes, "If you're not going to fly you better get a half decent grade on this test. Now, explain to me one more time, in detail how wizards prevented being burned at the stake."

On the day of the first quidditch match I leave my dorm as soon as I wake up and practically sprint to the great hall in my pyjamas in attempts to find George. Thankfully, he was sitting at the Gryffindor table with the rest of his team talking strategy before the game.

"Oliver hi, Katie, Angelina, Alicia, Harry hello, Fred hi love. George can I talk to you?" I say listing off all the players sitting in front of me.

"LeStrange we are just getting into our-" Oliver starts.

I cut him off quick, "Okay and it won't take very long. Give us a moment." George looks at his team before getting up and following me out of the hall.

"Violet are you okay?" George says looking rather worried.

"Hmm? Oh yeah no I'm fine. I'm fine. It's you I'm worried about. There's a full thunder storm happening outside. If you dare get struck by lighting or- or"

George smiles and kisses my lips, cutting me off mid sentence. "I've played in weather like this before love. Don't worry. If the weather gets too bad Hooch will call it off."

I look at him and do my very best to make my eyes as wide and as innocent as possible. "But Georgie if something happens to you out there..." I say softly. I can physically see George's heart melt at the sight of me, "I'll kill you before you reach the ground. I don't need another reason to visit the hospital wing this year. Once was enough." I finish quickly.

George smiles even bigger now, "Go get dressed you absolute idiot. I promise I'll do my best not to get fried by lighting okay?"

I mumble an okay and he kisses my lips again. "You know its hot seeing you all worried and scared for my safety." He says quietly.

"Fuck off Weasley." I peck him quickly and head back to the dungeons.

"Love you too dumbass!" He calls after me jokingly.

When I get back into the common room the winds outside are worse than they've ever been all year. I get dressed in warm clothes and make sure to bring my very warm, very big, jacket that I've bewitched to repel water.

By around ten o'clock the whole school files out into the thunderstorm and run all the way to the quidditch pitch. "I can't believe they are actually playing in this weather." Emma says shoving her hands into her pockets when we find a half decent spot in the bleachers.

"I'm honestly sort of thrilled that Draco lied about his arm hurting him. I wouldn't want him to be playing today." I yell over the howling winds. A loud crack of thunder breaks the sky open into torrential downpour. Lightning flashes in the distance.

Walter tries to open his umbrella but the winds are to strong for it to work properly. Instead I use the same charm I used on my coat on their coats and hats so at least we can stay sort of dry. "Look. They're making their way onto the pitch now." Walter shouts pointing down to the ground.

It's hard to make out the figures in the rain but I can see red and yellow flecks of colour now peppering the middle of the pitch. Wally pulls out some binoculars and peers down at the plays. "Madam Hooch is saying... something, No chance I can hear her over this storm... And they're off." He commentates watching the players soar into the sky.

"I can't even see them!" Emma wails.

Suddenly Lee's voice blares over the howling winds, "Good afternoon witches, wizards, and all other magical folk! Today's game is quite an intense one, Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff! Given no one can actually see what's happening I might just start making things up as I go."

The three of us laugh at Lee. "You've got yourself a good one there Wally." I shout into Walters ear. He looks down at me and smiles big.

"As all my Gryffindor fans know this is Oliver Woods last year here! Meaning this is the last year for him to actually get a quidditch trophy! Will he pull it off?" Lee shouts into his microphone. "And apparently he will! One of the Gryffindor chasers... Katie? Alicia? Not a single clue who it was, but they just earned Gryffindor ten points!"

I can't hear it but I assume that the crowd starts to cheer. "Can we leave? We can't see a damn thing!" Emma shouts.

"We have to stay! Our friends are out there playing what if they get hurt!" Walter shouts back. Emma buries herself in her jacket in attempts to hide from the rain.

"Hufflepuff have tied the score..." A big clap of thunder cuts Lee off mid sentence, the rain starts to fall harder, the clouds get darker. It takes a few minutes before anyone can hear Lee again, "Gryffindor is up 60-10! Oh wait! Looks like Gryffindor..." Another bang of thunder, this time followed by a big fork of lightning that hits a little too close to the quidditch pitch. "time out!" we hear Lee say.

Walter brings his binoculars to his face again, "Why am I even trying?" He says before shoving them into his pocket.

The winds get heavier, the temperature drops a few degrees, "And the game is back on!" Lee shouts.

The players soar back into the sky and once again, we are standing there trying to see something, anything that resembles a quidditch player.

"Wait, I think that's Harry!" I shout point up into the sky. Emma and Walter look where I'm pointing. If I'm right, Harry Potter is soaring high into the sky, most likely chasing after the snitch.

"I hope he fucking catches it. I can't take much more of this." Emma groans.

We all watch as Harry soars higher, higher... then he's coming back down. Fast. Faster than he should be. "Something's wrong." Walter shouts.

I can only assume that the whole crowd is dead silent as we all watch in horror as Harry Potter falls back towards the ground. "No fucking way." Emma shouts.

That's when I notice the three Dementors chasing after him as he falls through the air. It's like time is moving in slow motion. Harry falling, the Dementors chasing him. "It's Dumbledore!" Walter shouts. I move my attention towards the pitch and watch with squinted eyes as a grey figure bolts to the middle of the pitch. Harry's fall slows slightly but he still hits the ground with a thud that can be heard through out the entire pitch. Dumbledore points his wand at the Dementors and a trail of white shiny stuff spews out of it and the Dementors go back up into the sky and out of view.

"Cedric Diggory, the Seeker for the Hufflepuff team has caught the snitch! Hufflepuff wins!" Lee shouts as teachers flood the pitch and help Dumbledore carry Harry Potter off the field. "But that's not really the thing that we should be focusing on right now. Game's over!"

Everyone files out of the stands and run through the field to the safety of the castle. "That was awful. How far up do you think that was? Like a hundred feet?" Emma says when we are finally back in the castle walking into the dungeons.

"Couldn't have been a hundred feet. Fifty probably." Walter says wringing out his house scarf.

I put my fingers on the wall, mutter the word pureblood and step into the common room. "I'm surprised he's still alive. Three Dementors after him and a hundred foot fall?" I say pulling off my winter coat.

"Fifty foot fall." Walter says. Emma hits him in the arm and he flinches away from her, "I'm going to go get changed." He says backing away from Emma so he doesn't get hit again.

Emma and I go into our dorm to get changed as well. I put on sweats and one of Molly's sweaters and grab my history book and bring int back out into the common room. I stay there for hours. Emma and Walter go to bed early along with most of the other students in the room.

At around one in the morning the door creaks open. Which I really don't care that much about, if I break the rules I don't mind if others break the rules. At least I say I don't care till I hear Draco whisper "fuck" under his breath.

I spin around and look at my cousin. He's standing by the common room door in his pyjamas and bunny slippers that he begged his mother for. "What the hell are you doing?" I ask him, closing my book in my lap slowly.

Draco shuffles over to me and sits beside me on the couch, "I uhm... lost track of time when I was in the library?" He says, even though it sounds more like he's asking me what he was doing.

"So you... Draco Malfoy... walked into the library after the quidditch match, in your pyjamas and bunny slippers and stayed there three hours after curfew without being caught because you just 'lost track of time'? Don't lie to me." I say sternly. I put my arm over the top of the couch and Draco slowly curls himself into my side.

"If I tell you, will you tell anyone?" He whispers. I wrap my arm around his shoulders and squeeze him tight.

"Course I won't. When have I ever told anyone anything you've told me before? Remember when we were little and you broke Uncle Lucius' statue thing and we tried to charm it back together before he got home?"

Draco laughs a bit, "I snuck into the hospital wing to check on Potter."


	56. Part 3, Chapter 16

What Draco says takes me by surprise but I try my hardest not to let him know that, "How is he?"

I can physically feel the tension melt away from Draco's body. "He was asleep so he didn't know that I was there but he seemed okay... I just thought. It could have been me who fell if I played today you know?"

I brush my fingers up and down Draco's arm like I did when we were kids and he was crying after around with his father. "If it was you, you could bet your entire trust fund that I would be at your side at all times," I whisper to him.

Draco sits up and looks at me, "I know. That's why I went to see Potter. He doesn't have a cousin that would do that for him so he's all alone. I wouldn't want to feel like that if I was in pain."

I move so I'm sitting up and I can see him head-on, "That's really big of you Draco. I'm proud."

Draco rolls his eyes, "You're making a big thing out of it. I knew you would."

I throw myself practically on top of him and squeeze him into a tight hug, "You're just a sweet little baaabyy boy!" I say in a high pitch voice, "Look at you all soft and showing emotions and things!"

Draco squirms out of my grasp laughing, "I hate you so much." He says smiling at me.

I ruffle up his hair, "Get to bed, it's late. I'll see you tomorrow." I push his head away from me playfully and he gets up from the couch.

"You should go to bed too. I know mother would have a fit if she knew you were up past midnight." He says before taking off his slippers and walking into the boys dorms.

I wait before I hear Draco's door close before getting up and heading off into my dorm. A faint smile on my face. Seeing Draco like this, hearing him talk about a selfless act he's done makes my heart swell with pride. I know that if anyone else heard him talk like that they wouldn't believe him for a second but I've grown up with him. I know how soft he really is inside. And it pains me to see his father, my Uncle, tear him down every chance he gets.

Monday morning Draco's got the tough guy façade in full works. He's finally taken the bandages off his arm so there's one thing. But he's currently sitting at the breakfast table with his friends pretending to fall over, making fun of a seething Potter that's sitting at the Gryffindor table.

"You're cousins annoying." Walter says stuffing his face full of cereal as I sit down beside him.

I look over at Draco and his friends who are now covering their heads with their robes and pretending to be Dementors. "He's not that bad." I say back, pouring myself a bowl of cereal.

"Have you guys finished the composition for History of Magic?" Emma says changing the subject. "I have to ask Binns if I can submit it next class."

"We have History again tomorrow. Is there really a point in asking for more time?" Wally says, pouring himself a second bowl of cereal.

"I can't. I cannot watch you eat. Turn around and face the wall." I say to Walter jokingly. He spoon full of cereal in his mouth and leans close to my ear before chewing really loudly.

"I'm only six inches short so I'll only need an extra day. Unless someone will let me copy their conclusion before we leave breakfast?" Emma says raising her eyebrows at me.

"No, absolutely not. I'm actually on Binns good side so there's no way in hell I'm going to let you cheat off me."

The ten minute bell rings through the castle. Walter picks up his bowl and drinks the rest of his cereal before we all head out of the great hall and up to the third floor for our History class. As we walk in, we place our finished compositions in a basket that sits on the table by the classroom door.

"ah good-morning students!" Professor Binns says as he floats into the room quickly. "I need textbooks out, ink pots open, quills at the ready because today we are starting the International Warlock Convention of 1298." He says in his very monotone voice.

George pushes me in the side with his elbow. "I need to share your textbook, I think I lost mine." He whispers.

"Mister Weasley, I would appreciate it if you will stay silent during my lectures. Unless of course you have a question." Binns turns around and looks at George, "Do you have a question?"

George clears his throat and I can feel the whole class prepare for his smart ass answer. "Not yet sir, but I promise you I'll come up with one by the time class is over." George winks at Binns and a few students snicker.

Binns ignores George's response. He then starts to drone on about the year 1298 and why it's an important part of the wizarding history or whatever it is that he's talking about. Now, normally I don't like cheating, never condone it, never done it in any of my classes. Except for this one maybe, if you consider using a bewitched quill to take your notes for you. I charmed it in first year after about three months of trying to keep up with Professor Binns lectures. My hand was stuck in the quill holding position for three days straight. It was a rather simple charm honestly, I'm surprised more people don't use it. The quill just copies down everything that it hears so as long as you're the only one talking then it's fine. Which is perfect in Binns class because everyone but him is fast asleep.

George slides my textbook closer to him and he writes a message on the edge of the page, Fred and I want to try out a new thing. I read his message about four times over and it still doesn't make sense. I look at George confused but he just smiles that wicked smile of his.

Fred turns around in his seat and George gives him the thumbs up. Fred then carefully tosses a small package onto Alex Reynolds, a Hufflepuff student, desk. Alex is a rather dopey boy, not very talented in any sort of magic or class that I'm personally aware of. All I do know is that he shares a dorm with Cedric and they appear to be friends. Alex without hesitation, opens the small package and puts whatever is inside, in his mouth.

George gets really excited, he writes on a separate page in my book, tried this one on Ron two weekends ago. Gotta try it on one more person before we know it really works.

"What are you-" I whisper but whatever it is that Fred gave poor Alex already has taken hold.

Alex jumps from his seat and screams. Causing Binns to turn around and gasp in horror at whatever it is that is going on, "Get out! Go! Go to the hospital wing right now!" Binns shouts.

Alex turns around and races to the door, and only then can I see what actually happened. Blood is streaming down Alex's nose very quickly. As he leaves the room, he leaves a trail of blood on the floor. The class erupts into laughter and just confused voices from every which way. Fred and George stand up and bow a little, which receives a round of applause from everyone except Binns and Cedric Diggory.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor. Each! And a detention for the both of you! Hexing students in my classroom. I have never." Binns says staring at Fred and George with pure anger.

"To be fair sir, we didn't hex him. We just fed him some of our nosebleed nougat! Sure to get you out of any of your classes in a pinch!" Fred says, pitching his idea to the class.

"Only three sickles a piece, get them before they're gone!" George finishes. The twins sit back down. George winks at me.

Binns looks shocked, but he doesn't say anything more on the situation. Instead he goes back to reading off his notes about the damn Warlock Convention.

When the bell rings everyone cannot wait to get out of Binns classroom. Emma stays back to talk to him about the extension for her composition.

"You're really funny aren't you?" Cedric says to Fred and George when we are out in the corridor. "Really just going to try some stupid little creation you two made up in your dorm on my friend like that?"

Fred and George look at each other, "You're right. It was stupid. You know what? I'll make you a deal. We won't pull crap like that again if you can tell which one of us is Fred. And which one of us is George." George says to Cedric.

Walter, Lee, and I stand behind the twins waiting for Cedric to say something. "Do it to the Ravenclaws next time is all I'm asking for." He says before walking off to his next class.

George turns and looks at me, "Works every time." He says with a wink. He takes my hand in his and squeezes it gently. "We better be off to potions. Snape isn't a fan of late comers."


	57. Part 3, Chapter 17

"He threw a crocodile heart at your face?" I'm sitting with Emma, Wally, and Draco in the common room after dinner. I made the mistake of asking Draco how his day went before he goes off to hang out with his friends.

"Snape took fifty points from Gryffindor when it happened," Draco says shrugging his shoulders.

I lean back into the couch and sigh, "Rightfully so. I mean who in their right mind would do something like that? No matter how much of a pain you were being."

Draco looks offended which makes Emma and Walter laugh, "What makes you think that I was the instigator?" He says in a shrill voice. I give him my 'are you seriously trying to tell me the thing that you're trying to tell me right now' look and Draco sighs. "Okay yes I was making fun of Potter all day so in theory, it sort of makes sense that Ronald Weasel would throw something at me. But what? Perfect Potter is too good to fight his own battles? He needs his trusty little sidekick to fight all of them for him?"

"Potter seems perfectly capable of fighting his own battles. Remember Professor Quirrell? The Chamber of Secrets?" Walter points out.

Draco goes pink, "What? So I'm just not good enough for Potter to care about? That he has to send his damn pet after me like that?"

I close my eyes and breath in slowly, "Please, for the love of all things good in this world. Will you please put the same amount of effort that you do into hating Potter into your studies? Uncle Lucius will lock you in a broom cupboard all Christmas if you come back with shotty grades again." I say to Draco. Which is only partially true, instead of a broom closet it would be his room, and instead of all Christmas, it would be all summer.

Draco gets up from his spot on the floor in front of the couch, "Right away, mother." He says sarcastically before huffing, turning around very dramatically, and storming off to his friends who have found an empty spot by some desks in the corner.

"We were never like that during third year were we?" Emma says watching Draco and his friends start talking and laughing.

"We most definitely were. Only instead of Draco whining about Potter, we had a different Malfoy cooing over George." Walter says poking fun at me.

"I'm not a Malfoy." I say to him, given it's my only form of defense right now.

"Might as well be. You were raised by them." Emma adds to the conversation.

I look at both of them in turn, "Didn't know it was attack Violet day. Please next time send my invitation in the post."

The weeks leading up to Christmas break were full of genuine happiness. Everyone singing Christmas carols, dancing in the hallways, trying to stop under the mistletoe Professor Sprout has hung throughout the corridors. The last weekend before students are able to go home for Christmas holidays we are allowed to go to Hogsmeade. Which means that I get a whole day with George and our friends.

"Here wait. We have to do something before we go." Fred says to us when we meet up with everyone outside of the great hall.

"Well hows about Wally, Lee, and Emma go off with everyone else. Violet, Freddie, and I can take the other way." George says.

"Yes lets do that instead. I don't want to break any rules unless absolutely necessary." Emma says smiling. She takes both Wally and Lee's hands and drags them away from George, Fred, and I.

I turn to the boys, "Okay so where are we going?"

Fred and George look at each other, "We have to give something to someone. Come on." Fred goes up the stairs, George takes my hand and we follow behind Fred.

We go up to the third floor and stand by the one eyed witch. "Okay seriously, what are we doing here?"

George puts his finger over my mouth and he and Fred peer around the corner. "Pst! Harry!" Fred whispers.

Harry Potter comes around the corner very confused. He looks at the three of us, his brows wrinkle together, "What are you doing? Why aren't you going to Hogsmeade?" He asks.

"My question exactly. Sorry about my cousin Harry." I say to him.

"Oh no, its not your fault." Harry says.

"We've come to give you a bit of festive cheer before we go." Fred says ignoring Harry and my banter. "Come in here..." Fred pushes open the door to an empty classroom and we all file inside. I sit at a desk, looking at the three boys. Okay well not all of them. Just George. I like looking at him when he doesn't know I'm looking. His shoulders are hunched a little, his hair falls perfectly around his ears, his jawline perfectly frames the side of his face, especially when he laughs.

"Early Christmas present for you Harry." Fred says. He then reaches into his coat and pulls out a folded piece of old parchment and slaps it onto the desk I'm sitting at.

"No fucking way." I whisper looking at the twins. Fred and George both look very proud of themselves.

"Umh no offense, but what is it supposed to be?" Harry says looking at the parchment.

"This Harry, is the secret to our success." George says patting the parchment.

"It's a wrench, giving it to you." Fred says, "but we decided last night that your need's greater than ours."

I chuckle to myself and look at the parchment then at the twins, "You're giving it to him? Bloody hell Harry., You must be special."

George winks at me, "Anyways, we know it off by heart. We bequeath it to you. We don't really need it anymore."

"Bequeath huh? I didn't know that you even knew what that word means." I say poking fun at George. He sticks his tongue out at me.

"And what do I need with a bit of old parchment?" Harry says, still very confused.

"A bit of old parchment!" Fred exclaims. He puts his head in his hands and sighs deeply, "Explain... George."

George clears his throat, "Well, when we were in our first year Harry. Young, carefree... innocent."

Harry snorts and I laugh, "That's likely." I say laughing at the boys.

George sits on the desk and takes my hand in his out of habit, "Well, more innocent than we are now. We got into a spot of bother with Filch."

"We let a dungbomb in the corridor and it upset him for some reason..." Fred cuts in.

"So he hauled us off to his office and started threatening us with the usual"

"Detention." Fred shrugs.

"Disembowelment." George adds. Harry looks horrified.

"And we couldn't help noticing a drawer in one of his filing cabinets marked Confiscated and Highly Dangerous."

Harry looks at both of the boys slowly, "Don't tell me" Harry says smiling.

"Well what would you have done?" Fred says looking at Harry. Harry looks at me and I nod eagerly. "George caused a diversion by dropping another dungbomb, I whipped the drawer open, and grabbed- this." Fred gestures to the parchment spread out beside George.

"It's not as bad as it sounds honestly." George says casually, "We don't reckon Filch ever found out how to work it. He probably suspected what it was though, or he wouldn't have taken it."

Harry stares at the map, "And you know how to use it?"

"Course they do Harry. Remember who you're talking to." I say flashing him a wicked grin, remembering all the times this map got us all out of trouble.

"This little beauty taught us more than all the teachers in this school." Fred says smirking.

"Okay, you're winding me up." Harry says clearly not impressed anymore.

George laughs, like a proper belly laugh, "Oh are we?" George takes out his wand and touches the parchment, like I've seen him do a hundred times over, like I've done several times in my past as well. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." He says.

The map slowly appears on the parchment, fine ink lines spread all across the page. Fred, George, and I all watch Harrys face. His eyes widen, his smiles grows bigger and bigger.

Fred and George sigh, looking down at the map lovingly. Fred traces one of the passages with his finger carefully, "Right to Hogsmeade." He says dreamily. "There are seven in all. Now Filch knows about these four." He says pointing his finger at different spots on the map. "But we're sure that the only people who know about these ones are in this room." He says pointing out different passages. "Don't bother with the one behind the mirror on the fourth floor. We used it last winter but now it's completely caved it. And we don't reckon anyone's used this one, because the Whomping Willow is planted right on top of it. But this one here." He points at the one eyed witch statue. "We've used this one loads of times, Violet can vouch."

The boys all look at me and I nod eagerly, "It's a long walk but it works wonders. Lots of memories down there." I say smiling.

"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs." George says sighing, "We owe them so much."

"Noble men, working tirelessly to help a new generation of law-breakers." Fred says patting the map carefully.

"Or women." I say, Fred rolls his eyes.

"Oh right! Don't forget to wipe it after you've used it." George says.

"Or anyone can see it." Fred finishes.

"Just tap it again and say mischief managed and it'll go blank." George explains.

Harry looks like a kid in a candy store, "So young Harry." Fred says, pulling out his best Percy impression, "Mind you behave yourself."

George jumps off the desk and I stand from my seat, "See you in Honeydukes." George says winking. He grabs my hand again and we leave Harry alone in the classroom.

"Can't believe you gave him the map." I say to them, Fred opens the back of the one eye witch and slides down into the darkness.

"Don't worry beautiful. We'll still have our little late night adventures. It'll just be a little more dangerous." He says winking. He hits my bum and helps me up to the passage opening. "Besides, where's the fun in doing something against the rules if there's not a chance that you'll be caught?"


	58. Part 3, Chapter 18

It's the first time in three years that both Draco and I are going home for the holidays. Which pleases Draco more than he would like to admit.

"Why did I sign up for this? I mean do I really want to spend two weeks with my family? With Draco?" I moan slamming my trunk shut and propping it up on its wheels.

"You love your cousin," Emma says. She pulls open the dorm room door and we both wheel out our trunks and walk out of the common room and into the dungeons where Walter is waiting with Lee and the other boys.

"Ready for the ride home?" George says to me.

I go over to him and kiss him gently, "Absolutely not. I wish I could just stay here, and not go home and wear a stiff dress and sit there with my stiff family, listening to boring conversations about stiff people things." I say grumpily.

We all walk to the front doors to the castle and load our trunks into the self pulling carriages. "I just can't wait to have mums home-cooked turkey. Not that the food here isn't great but there's something special about mums food." Fred says when we are all situated in the carriage.

"The only home-cooked, made with love, food I get is from Hogwarts. Everything at my house is made by our house elf." I say. Emma nods because it's the same in her house too.

On the train we talk about a lot of nothing, I keep drifting in and out of sleep the entire time. At one point I woke up to George holding a quill to my face about to draw a mustache on me. Nine hours later and we all file out of the train with our trunks. Draco meets up with me and we go look for Aunt Narcissa and Uncle Malfoy.

"Oh there's my mum. Bye Vi, see you in two weeks." George pecks my cheek and he and Fred rush off to Molly and Arthur.

"I don't see mother and father." Draco says to me looking down the platform.

I look at the Weasleys who are hugging and kissing each other and being a happy family, "No, I don't see them either." I say.

"Miss LeStrange? Mister Malfoy? I'm here to pick you up and take you to your home." A short and stout older wizard says coming up to us, "I have a letter from your parents." He pulls out a perfectly folded parchment with the family crest on the back of it.

I take it from him and open it quickly reading through Aunt Narcissa's perfect handwriting.

Sorry dears but your father and I have some business to attend to. This is Bartholomew, he works with your father at the ministry. He'll take you home. We'll see you in three days time.

I read it out loud to Draco and his shoulders slump. We pick up our things and follow the little wizard off the platform. Its about a three hour drive to the Malfoy Manor, for a total of twelve hours of travelling just to get home to an empty house. Bartholomew takes our trunks out of the car and speeds away leaving Draco and I at the edge of our property looking at the massive, dark house in front of us.

"Master Malfoy! Master LeStrange! Norby is very pleased to see you home for holidays he is!" Our house elf says when we reach the front door. Draco shoves his trunk at him and storms inside and up the stairs to his room.

"Sorry about him Norby. He's very tired." I say. I drag my trunk up into the house and up the stairs. I open up the door to my room and sigh.

It's a very pretty room. The walls are covered in a pale white lace looking wallpaper with jet black trim. My bed is a huge four poster with black lace curtains hanging around it. There's a very old Victorian chair in the corner by two bookshelves. My desk by the window is empty, my white curtains gently swaying in the wind coming in through the open window.

I stand in the doorway, just looking at all my things. Before I drag my trunk to the foot of my bed and sit on top of it. The dark wood floor doesn't have a single scuff on it, besides the one that's right in the middle of my room. It happened when I was seven, Draco was five. We were at home with Dobby watching over us the best he could. But then Draco accidentally set a cup on fire and instead of throwing it in the bath tub he came running into my room and dropped it on the floor. I screamed, Draco screamed, Dobby apparated into my room, he put out the fire then went and locked himself in the closet because he blamed himself for the accident happening. Uncle Lucius was furious, he left the mark on the floor as a reminder that if something like that happened again we would be locked in our room for weeks.

Draco knocks on my door, "Can I stay with you tonight? I'll sleep on the floor or something. I just don't like being here all by myself."

I clear my throat, "You're not sleeping on the floor. Let me get changed into my pyjamas and we can go to bed." Draco closes the door and I get changed into my classic silk pyjama set and tell Draco hr can open the door again. I hop onto my very squishy mattress and Draco lies down on the other side.

"Should have stayed at school this year. Mother and Father don't want us here." Draco says softly.

"Doesn't mean they don't love us." I say back to him.

Draco rolls from his back and lies on his side so he can see me. "But it sort of means that doesn't it? I've heard them talking. You're getting older, you'll be able to do stuff soon, be spoken to like an adult. That's why they treat you better than me. You're closer to what they want you to become."

"Are you mad? I'm dating Uncle Lucius' nemesis son. I'm nothing like they want me to be like."

Draco huffs, "So when father asks you to become a Death Eater, you'll say no?" I turn over in bed so I'm facing him. Fear floods through my body. I've known about Uncle Lucius and Aunt Narcissa's ties to the Dark Lord ever since I was a little kid. But I tried to shield Draco from the truth for years. Draco laughs a little, "Don't look at me like that. It's not like they're trying to hide it."

I take a deep breath and look into Draco's hurt and scared eyes, "If Uncle Lucius..."

"When."

I take another deep breath, "When Uncle Lucius asks me to become a Death Eater... I- I don't know what I'll do. If I say yes, then I'm stuck forever, forced to marry whatever pureblood they find for me. If I say no... I'll never be able to see you again. I would lose my family." Tears start to form in my eyes but I blink them away best I can.

"You found another family though. You have the Weasleys. They love you, all of them. If you say no, you'll have somewhere to go. All my friends will be asked the same question. They'll all say yes. I'll have to say yes. And then what? Die for a cause I'm not sure I even believe in anymore?" Draco whispers, choking on his words.

"I'll stay for you. We will be in this together, do everything together. I'll protect you."

A tear falls down Draco's face. "I don't think I want you to protect me. You wouldn't be happy staying here. I don't want the one person who I know cares for me miserable because of me."

"Don't worry about me. In the end it will be my decision." I say to him but he's not listening anymore. His eyes are shut gently, his mouth open slightly as he snores. I pull the blankets from the end of the bed and cover Draco's sleeping body carefully before rolling over and blowing out my candle.

When Aunt Narcissa and Uncle Lucius get back home the house gets awkward. Draco and I meet them at the front door. Uncle Lucius says a simple hello before going away into the library and locking the door. Aunt Narcissa pulls us both into a hug and kisses the top of our heads. "Lucius is pre-occupied with family things. Don't take his absence as a sign of not wanting to see you both." She says to us calmly. "Norby! Put the kettle on and make some scones, I need to get caught up with my children."

The three of us go into the casual living room and Norby brings in a tray full of tea, scones, and strawberry jam. "Violet, how have your grades been? You have to write your OWLs this year and if you think for a second-" Aunt Narcissa starts.

"I'm at the top of my class. I brought home my notes so I can review before I go back for the second term." I cut her off. She looks at me carefully before she smiles and pats my knee. Norby gives me a cup of tea and a scone.

"And you Draco? Third year is just as important." She moves her hand from my knee and turns her whole body to look at Draco.

"I uhm. I'm doing alright I suppose. I've been having some issues with Herbology but Violet has been helping me with that. And Care of Magical Creatures has been difficult but its probably because it's being taught by..."

Aunt Narcissa clicks her tongue and shakes her head, "It doesn't matter who it is being taught by. Violet is taking the same class taught by the same professor and she is doing perfectly. She didn't get attacked by a Hippogriff on her first day."

Draco shrinks down into his chair and Aunt Narcissa calls him on his poor posture, "But mother. Violet doesn't have Potter and his..."

"Here we go about this Potter nonsense again. Draco, own up to your faults and work through them. Do not try to blame your inability to do something right on someone else." Aunt Narcissa snaps.

I want to say something, I want to tell her to stop, to cut him some slack. But I don't. I sit there quietly and sip on the fruit flavoured tea that Norby made for me. "Violet is still associating with the Weasley boy." Draco says. I curse under my breath.

"Trust me, we are fully aware of the way Violet has been spending her time after class. But Violet knows that it's not a permident thing. Don't you Violet." My Aunt says looking at me.

I put my tea cup back on the saucer and place the saucer on the coffee table in front of me, "I'm sorry?"

"You'll be ending things with the Weasley boy as soon as you're done at Hogwarts. What you do as a child doesn't concern me much, why do you think we agreed to let you see him last summer? But as an adult you will be making adult decisions. One of them being disassociating yourself with a blood traitor." Aunt Narcissa annunciates each word that comes out of her mouth perfectly. She says it calmly, matter of factly, but her words cut deeper than anything she has ever said to me previously.

Draco watches me carefully, "And what if I don't? Will you get rid of me the same way your father got rid of your sister?" I say in the same calm tone she used with me.

It was the first time I've ever said anything back to her. First time I have ever said anything back to either my Aunt or Uncle. Draco's jaw goes slack, watching in awe as his mother turns to face me. Her jaw is locked, the vein in her forehead pops out slightly. "If your mother heard you speak like that she would have your head."

"If my mother cared about me in any way shape or form she wouldn't have gotten herself locked in Azkaban." I say back.

Aunt Narcissa takes a sharp breath in, "I suggest you go to your room before you say something else."

I get up from my seat and do exactly as she asks me to do, walking right into my room, gently closing the door. And staying there for the rest of Christmas holiday.


	59. Part 3, Chapter 19

I don't speak to either Aunt Narcissa or Uncle Lucius the whole car ride back to Kings Cross Station after the holidays are over. I find my own trolly, pack up my own trunk, and walk ahead of them all till I get to the train. I don't even bother making it look like I'll be sitting in the back of the train, I load all my things right into the car that I've sat in for the past three years and don't even consider looking out the window to wave goodbye to them.

"Hey! How was your holiday?" Lee says cheerily, coming into the booth.

"I love you Lee, but I really don't want to talk about it," I say to a now confused and concerned Lee.

Emma and Walter come into the booth. Wally pats me on the head before sitting down beside Lee and pecking his lips, "Missed you." Walter whispers to Lee.

Finally, the twins get onto the train and come into the booth. George can instantly tell something is wrong but when he asks me about it I kiss him and tell him everything is fine.

"Oh Violet, Mum was nervous to send this to you over the holidays so she sent it with us instead," George says after a moment. He stands up and pulls a package from his trunk that's in the luggage carrier and gives it to me.

I tear it open, an emerald green sweater with a big snake woven into the front is inside. Along with a big box of homemade gingersnap cookies and a little note. "Oh cookies!" Emma says peering over. I had her the box and she opens it and passes it around to everyone, I'm more focused on the note than anything.

Dear Violet.

It's so strange, you've known my boys for nearly five years and I have only formally met you once. While I know that its family related, I really do wish that you will spend some time at the Burrow over summer holidays. It would make me so happy. I hope you are doing well, George has told me in less than a hundred words how you feel about your cousin escaping Azkaban. Feel free to write to me any time, as sort of a second pair of ears, I'll always be here for you no matter what happens with you and George. I remember telling you that last summer but I just want to make sure you don't forget. Stay healthy, stay strong, and hopefully I'll see you soon.

With love, Molly.

"You're mums the sweetest woman I've ever met." I say reading the note over again.

George puts his arm around me and kisses my temple, "Looks like all the Weasleys are a fan of yours." He says.

A sinking feeling forms in the pit of my stomach, like I feel guilty to be this happy now when I know that I will have to break it off when I leave school in two years. I know what George would say though, 'two years is a long ways away. Things will change, just focus on the here and now. Focus on us. Focus on me.'

When we get to the school, the sun has already set, the moonlight gently reflecting off of the freshly fallen snow. "George and I are going to take a separate carriage. We'll meet up with you at the castle." I call to our friends.

"We are?" George says looking at me.

My stomach lurches, "Yeah, I have to talk to you about something." I say to him. He doesn't fight it, he just helps me load my things into a carriage.

"Is everything alright?" He says quietly, the carriage lurches forwards and we slowly make our way down the path.

I take a shaky breath and tell him what happened over my Christmas holidays. When I'm done he just looks at me. "At some point in the near future, I'm going to become a Death Eater. I won't have a choice if I want to protect Draco. And I know that it's only rumors right now but Uncle Lucius has been acting very strange recently, which leads me to believe that the Dark Lord... He Who Shall Not Be Named... is coming back."

George looks from the bottom of the carriage to my face, "We can make it work Violet. We have two years to figure out how this could work."

I sniff my nose and take his hands in mine, "I'm not saying we have to end things right here right now. I want to spend as much time as I can with you. It's just something that we should probably... I dunno, acknowledge?"

"You don't suddenly agree with the things that the Death Eaters believe in do you?" George asks.

"What? Course I don't!"

George oats my hands, "Then that's all there is to acknowledge. You are still Violet now, and you will still be Violet later. You wouldn't be the Violet that I love if you were willing to just abandon your family, your cousin, at the drop of a hat. Your cousin needs you now, and will need you more in the future and you will be there for him no matter what." He says calmly. "And if all else fails we will just build a secret room into our joke shop and you and Draco can live there for the rest of your lives." He adds on trying to lighten the situation.

I kiss him on the lips and he hums slightly, "You're literally perfect." I whisper to him when I pull away.

January was full of studies and skill tests and flew by in a confusing and tiresome blur. The only real excitement in Hogwarts happened in February, the day of the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw quidditch match.

"At least it's not raining this time." Emma says when we get up into the stands.

I look up in the clear sky looking for Dementors but I can't see any, "Let's hope that no one falls to their death this time." I mumble

"I can't believe that Potter got a firebolt! I mean seriously, a firebolt!" Walter says not paying attention to either Emma or me.

"I'm sure if you made Slytherin team your father would buy you a firebolt you know." I tell him.

Walter then goes on about how he would if he had spare time blah blah blah. "Wood, Davies, shake hands." Madam Hooch's voice rings through the stadium, "On my count. Three...two...one!"

The plays soar into the sky, Harry on his Firebolt is definitely the fastest. Lee's voice can be heard over the cheering of the crowd, "And they're off! The big excitement this match is the Firebolt which Harry Potter is flying for Gryffindor." Wally smiles when he hears his boyfriends voice through the microphone. "According to Which Broomstick, the Firebolt's going to be the broom of choice for the national teams at this years World Championship-"

"God Wally you really did find someone who's more of a quidditch nerd than you are." Emma jokes.

"Jordan, would you mind telling us what's going on in the match?" McGonagall cuts Lee off as he talks about the Firebolt.

"Okay, okay, Gryffindor in possession, Katie Bell of Gryffindor heading for the goal..."

The crowd erupts in a mixture of cheers and groans. "Cho is a fantastic flyer my god!" Emma shrieks as she watches Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw Seeker chase after Harry Potter and the snitch. A bludger came soaring out of nowhere making Harry have to veer off course.

"Bloody hell." Walter shouts. Gryffindors all yell out in disappointment.

I watch as George send a bludger towards the beater on the Ravenclaw team in an act of frustration which makes me smile.

"Gryffindor lead by eighty points to zero, and look at that Firebolt go! Potter's really putting it through the its paces now. See it turn- Chang's comet is just no match for it. The Firebolts precision-balance is really noticeable in these long-"

"JORDAN! ARE YOU BEING PAID TO ADVERTISE FIREBOLTS? GET ON WITH THE COMMENTARY!" McGonagall screams, making Walter, Emma, and I laugh.

"This game is so much better than the first one." Walter says, his eyes darting from one side of the pitch to the other watching the players.

"Look at the seekers!" Emma says loudly. Harry and Cho are still fighting for the snitch. Cho, realizing that her broom is not as good as Harry's has started to cut Harry off and force him to change his course, which in the end slows him down significantly. The crowd watches the two seekers soar from on side of the pitch to the other, which makes me feel dizzy if I'm being honest.

"Are those Dementors?" Emma shouts pointing to the end of the pitch.

I snatch Walters binoculars from him and bring them up to my eyes so I can see what she's pointing at. "Not Dementors. Their cloaks have Slytherin patches on them. Bet you ten galleons its my stupid cousin." I say.

"Well somebody better tell Potter that." Walter says. I swing my attention to the Gryffindor seeker, who has now pulled his wand out and shot a spell of some kind towards the bunch of idiots in the stands.

"Was that the Patronus charm?" Emma whispers.

"Haven't the foggiest, come on." I grab both Emma and Walter and push my way through the stands. When we hit the ground we run over to where we saw the 'dementors' and sure enough Draco was sitting on the ground untangling himself from the black robes he had draped over himself.

"You're a real idiot Draco." I say standing over my struggling cousin, my hands crossed over my chest, my wand in my right hand. I look over at the other flailing shapes and assume that they are my cousins dumb friends, "Gregory, Vincent. How many failed attempts will it take for you to realize that you really shouldn't be following this boneheads every move." I say using their first names for a change.

Draco finally gets his head out from under the cloaks and huffs, "It wasn't my idea!" He says to me.

That's when I notice Marcus Flint untangling himself from the mess, "Merlin's beard." Emma whispers.

"You've got to be fucking joking. Leave my idiot cousin alone Flint. I'm getting seriously tired of telling you that." I say, turning my attention towards the Slytherin team captain.

"Bite me LeStrange." He snaps at me.

McGonagall comes up behind me and stares at the four idiots on the ground, "An unworthy trick! A low and cowardly attempt to sabotage the Gryffindor seeker! Detention for all of you and fifty points from Slytherin!" She screams.

Emma, Walter, and I take a few steps back from her and Emma snorts in attempts to hide her laughter. "I shall be speaking to Professor Dumbledore about this, make no mistake! Ah, here he comes now!" McGonagall finishes.

The stands start to clear out and students walk past us and back towards the castle, Harry Potter, Dumbledore, Professor Lupin, and the rest of the Gryffindor team make their way over to the four idiots.

"Fred and I are going to nip out to Hogsmeade to get some things for the Gryffindor party. You guys wanna come?" George whispers in my ear from behind.

I turn around so I can see him. He's doused in sweat from the game, his cheeks a hot red. But the tired smile on his face tells me he had the most wonderful time playing today. "We really shouldn't. Slytherin is having their own little thing tonight." I say to him.

Walter sees Lee off in the distance and goes over to him. Emma comes closer to me and stands beside me, "You trying to steal our girl away again are you?" Emma says joking around with George.

"I have barley seen her all year. Excuse me if I want to spend some time with my girlfriend." George says back to her.

I put my hand on George's chest lightly. "How about you go get changed and we can bum around till you absolutely have to go do your thing okay?" I say to him. George nods and pecks my cheek before he dashes off to the Gryffindor changing tent.


	60. Part 3, Chapter 20

"If you could be anything in the world. Human, ghoul, animal, anything at all. What would you be?" George asks me. His fingers are intertwined with mine, our arms sway together in beat with our footsteps as we walk through the castle corridors after the quidditch game.

"Unicorn. All they do is roam forests looking beautiful and elegant."

George squeezes my hand, "You don't have to be a unicorn to do that. Just stand in a forest and roam and you've got it covered."

I take my hand from his and wrap my arm around his arm so I'm touching more of him, "What would you be?"

George hums softly, "I'd be an owl. So I could fly across the world and see everything there is to see."

We start to walk slowly down the grand staircase from the fifth floor, making our way to the dungeons. "It would be so cool to go to America for a bit. They do everything so different over there. Aunt Narcissa and Uncle Lucius went when they first got married, before Draco and I were a thing. She told us so many stories of her time there growing up. You know they call Muggles No-Maj over there? I mean its sort of obvious but I guess it gets the main message across."

"That is by far the most boring bit of information you have ever told me in the past five years." George jokes, bumping his shoulder against mine slightly.

"Oh fuck off Weasley." I say back bumping my shoulder into his a little harder.

"I say we sneak out tonight. Go spin around under the stars till we fall over from dizziness." George suggests. We reach the bottom of the stairs and turn away from the great hall and towards the dungeons.

"That sounds absolutely perfect but you know we can't. The Dementors are everywhere. Besides I have to..."

"Study yes I know." George says cutting me off. "I just miss our adventures. Sneaking around the grounds narrowly missing rogue teachers springing off into the forest and things."

I stop moving and pull on Georges arm so he spins around to look at me, "I'll see if I'll be able to sneak off for a week or so this summer. Then we can spin under the stars, dance with no music, swim in rivers, and run from Percy."

George laughs and pulls me into my chest. I instinctively wrap mu arms around him and he wraps his arms around my neck, "I would love that. But you and I both know your aunt and uncle wouldn't allow that." He kisses the top of my head which makes me melt into him more than I already was, "It's a splendid idea though love."

George drops me off in front of my common room door. I can hear faint music coming from behind the wall, which tells me that I've missed the beginning of the party. "I'll see you tomorrow. We can study in the library or something." I say to George before kissing his lips and opening the common room enterance.

"Violet! There you are! We've been looking all over for you!" Emma squeals when she sees me in the common room.

"I mean we haven't been looking that hard." Walter says, slurring his words slightly.

I take the gold cup from his hand and down whatever alcohol was in it, music from Lorcan D'Eath is blasting from a few speakers around the room, "Nice to know I'm important to you both." I say jokingly.

Emma takes my joke seriously though, "Well we knew you were with Georgie Porgie so we thought we better leave you two alone for some fun of your own." Emma throws her head back and finishes off her drink. She takes the now empty glass from me and goes over to the middle of the room to fill up the cups again.

I see Draco and his friends standing isolated in a corner so I do what all older cousins should do, and go over to him. "Better not be drinking Draco Malfoy." I say nodding towards the cup in his hands.

"I won't tell if you don't tell." Draco says looking at me with a smirk on his face.

"What are you lot doing anyways? This looks very anti social for a party."

They all look at each other carefully, "Well we were waiting for an empty bottle so all of us third years could sneak into the boys dorms and play spin the bottle." Pansy blurts out. The rest of the group rolls their eyes dramatically.

"You sure you're ready for your first kiss there Draco?" I say with a huge smile on his face.

Draco goes a deep shade of red and Blaise laughs to himself, "Goodbye Violet." Draco says pushing me away a little.

"Stay safe! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" I call out before I turn back towards my friends. Third year student Theodore Knott pushes past me clutching an empty bottle to his chest. I watch as he and the other third years rush into the boys dorms.

"What was that all about?" Emma says passing me a cup full of red liquid.

I take a sip of my drink and shrug, "They're off to play spin the bottle. Looks like little Draco is going to have his first kiss tonight."

Emma and Walter both howl really loudly, making most of the room turn to look at us. "Bet you Pansy is going to force herself in front of that bottle when Draco spins it." Emma says.

"I dunno honestly, the two just seem like they have the same bond that we do with Walter. Really good friends." I say.

"Two galleons says that Pansy isn't straight." Walter says into his cup.

"Hows about we not bet on other peoples sexualities?" Emma says, raising her eyebrows towards Wally.

"I'm gay. I'm allowed to." Is all Walter says before taking a deep drink from his cup.

I laugh and shake my head, "That is definitely not how that works."


	61. Part 3, Chapter 21

At around midnight when nearly everyone was in bed, Snape came barging into the common room in his bed robes. Unfortunately for us, Emma, Wally, and I were still awake talking quietly on the couches.

"Miss LeStrange, Miss Fay, Mister Clarence. Have any of you let a man into this common room?" Snape says. His voice is full of sleep but it still sounds menacing.

"Uh no sir. We were just getting ready to go into our dorms. What's the matter?" Walter says as he stands from the couch.

Snape comes further into the room, "Go wake all the boys, Miss Fay go wake all the girls. Miss LeStrange, can I have a moment." Snape snaps at us. Walter and Emma jump from their seats and go do as they were told.

I stand up slowly and walk over to Professor Snape, "Your uncle. Has he said anything to you about your cousin Sirius Black?" He asks coldly.

I shake my head no, "No sir never. Uncle Lucius told me to stay out of it for now and he would fill me in if need be."

Snape raises his chin slightly, his eyes look down on me, literally. "And you have no idea how he could sneak into the castle?"

My heart instantly starts to beat faster. Sirius Black? In the castle again? "No sir, not a clue. Our family doesn't speak about him due to his traitorous past."

Snape looks at me long and hard before nodding once. By then Slytherin students from both corridors file into the common room, yawning and rubbing their eyes.

"Who the bloody hell woke us all up?" Marcus groans.

Snape clears his throat and the entire room falls dead silent, many of the students not fully registering that he was in the room in the first place. "I didn't come in here... voluntarily. But Headmaster Dumbledore sent me in here to tell you all... Sirius Black was spotted in the Gryffindor common room tonight." Snape pauses for that dramatic effect that all Slytherins love. It's like the entire room took a sharp breath, everyone looks as if they might cry, hide, or vomit. Snape's lips twist into a strange, sort of sad smile before continuing. "The castle... is being searched as we speak... I must advise you all to not open the common room door for anyone that may knock on it... People that need inside know the password... Stay here for a moment. I have to search your dorms." Snape then quickly spins around, his cape moving in the wind he's created and he marches straight into the boys dormetories.

"If Sirius Black can sneak past fucking dementors how the bloody hell do the teachers think that they can find him?" Seventh year student Theodora says through a yawn.

"If they found him in the Gryffindor common room then why are they searching the dungeons? Makes no sense to me." Miriam says from the back of the room. A few students mumble in agreement.

Snape darts from the boys corridor to the girls corridor and the room goes quiet as he passes through.

"Malfoy. Aren't you and LeStrange related to that monster? What do you know about it all?" Someone says from the right side of the room.

I find Draco in the small crowd really quickly, Draco looks at his friends before saying anything. "He's no relative of mine. That damn Blood Traitor." Draco says loudly. That gets a small round of applause from nearly every Slytherin in the room. All except Em, Wally, and I pretty much.

Snape comes out of the girls dormitories and stops at the common room entrance, "Not like Slytherin is known to break curfew..." He pauses and looks at me with raised eyebrows. "But no one is to leave this common room until tomorrow morning when the breakfast bell is rung." He then opens the door behind him and rather gracefully leaves the common room. Until his robe gets caught in the now closed door.

We stifle our laughter, knowing that he can definitely hear us through the wall. We can hear him curse under his breath before the cloak is pulled from the crack in the wall. That's when everyone starts laughing really hard.

"Surprised that doesn't happen more often with the way he swooshes his robes around." Walter says making the room laugh even harder. Everyone slowly starts to head back into their rooms. Before I could step into the girls corridor someone tugs on the back of my shirt.

"Violet." Draco says. Emma nods at me and heads into our room. I walk with Draco out of the way of everyone.

"Are you alright?" I ask Draco, both my hands on his shoulders.

Draco nods, "Am I alright? I was going to ask if you were alright? Sirius Black was in the Gryffindor common room and your boyfriend was also in the Gryffindor common room. Aren't you worried?"

I pat Draco's shoulder with one of my hands and smile at him, "I'm good yeah. George would have let me know if something really bad happened to him."

Draco turns his head to the side slightly, "How do you mean 'let you know?"

"Never mind that. Get to bed, I can already tell tomorrow is going to be a long day." I take my hands off Draco's shoulders but he doesn't move. "Are you sure that's all you wanted to talk about Dray?"

Draco's eyes dart over to the boys dormitory, like he's checking to make sure none of his friends are still around. "Potters probably freaking out about the whole thing I suppose." I raise my eyebrows slightly which Draco takes as judgement, "I mean, perfect Potter has ruined literally every single year he's been at Hogwarts and now he's the reason a mass murderer is in the castle walls? Everyone must hate him."

I nod slowly, "Possibly, yeah I could see that happening." I say softly to him.

"I'm just saying. I know how that feels, to be hated by everyone... Well not everyone but a lot of people. But he's one of the people who hate me so there's not a chance that I could talk to him about it or anything." Draco looks at me for advice.

"Hows about you stop tormenting him. Just for a little bit, so he can focus on the people that don't hate him."

Draco rolls his eyes, "I don't hate him! I do all those things because I want him to notice..." Draco drifts off mid sentence.

"Go to bed. Think about what you can do to make Harry's life a little more bearable for the next little bit. And who knows? You might not need to pull anymore Dementor stunts for him to notice you if you be nice to him."

Draco groans and I ruffle his hair before walking past him and into the girls corridor. "Night idiot." Draco says to me before going across the common room into the boys dorms.

Once I'm changed and in my pyjamas I pull out my ink and quill and quickly write a message to George.

SNAPE JUST CHECKED OUR DORMS FOR SIRIUS BLACK. HE WAS IN YOUR COMMON ROOM?

It doesn't take long for him to respond.

WAS IN RONS DORM WITH A KNIFE. WE ARE ALL SAFE NOW. GET SOME SLEEP, MERLIN KNOWS I WON'T

I put my quill on my bedside table and blow out my candle. Draco has a point. Ever since Harry Potter got to Hogwarts every year there was something relatively dangerous happening around school. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that it's because of his relationship with the Dark Lord. I've heard Uncle Lucius whispering about his return, and I know that as soon as that happens I will be roped into his army of death eaters. I fall asleep with the thought of the Dark Lord coming back, my dreams full of cloaked figures and pain.

"Hey Weasley!" I call out to my boyfriend the next morning before breakfast. I jog up to him leaving Emma and Walter behind me. George scoops me into his arms and spins me around laughing. 'How is everyone, after last night?"

George puts me back on my feet and sighs, "Rons shaken up, but if you ask him he'll tell you the entire story. He loves the attention. Haven't spoke to Harry about it but I bet he's a little spooked too."

I shake my head and click my tongue, "I'm sorry that happened love."

George puts his palm on my cheek and rubs his thumb on my face softly, "It's not your fault darling. Don't apologise."

I smile and put my hand on top of his, "How are you always so positive?"

George smiles really big, "I have a lot of things to keep me so positive." After a quick kiss we part ways and go eat breakfast. After a boring History of Magic lecture with Binns we all meet up in the corridor and walk to the dungeons for potions class.

"Why is potions even mandatory? I mean who is ever going to be like 'you know what I want to do today? Brew a fucking potion." Fred says as we are walking to Snape's classroom.

"You're literally a wizard. Potions are used nearly every day of your life." Lee says. Everyone laughs.

"Well when George and I have our joke shop I can tell you for a fact that we will not be selling any potions. Isn't that right Georgie?" Fred says. He turns around and starts to walk backwards so he can see his brother.

"Dunno, there's a pretty big market for things like potions. Love potions for example are a huge hit with witches." George says.

Fred rolls his eyes and turns back around and starts to walk normally, "Love potions. The stupidest potion in the entire world if you ask me."

Emma skips beside Fred happily, "I think you're wrong Fred. Amortentia smells wonderful and its very powerful."

"Oh yeah? What does it smell like for you Em?" Fred asks. I can't see his face but I know he's sporting that classic Weasley twin smirk.

"Like burning wood, old books, and freshly baked cookies." Emma says dreamily. "So I figure he's a cozy book worm who also bakes."

"Dunno, kind of sounds like the Weasley house if you ask me." I say casually. George howls with laughter and Emma and Fred move a little farther away from each other.

"Don't worry Em. It might not be Fred, could be Percy, or Ron, or Ginny even." Lee adds to the conversation which only makes George laugh even harder.

"There is two older Weasley boys too you know. Could be Bill or Charlie." I say through a big smile on my face.

Emma throws open the potions classroom door, "That doesn't even make sense! How could it smell like someone I haven't even met yet?" She snaps, very obviously annoyed with the whole situation we've created.

"Guys Emma's right. It couldn't be Charlie or Bill. It's probably Percy." Walter says. George kisses my cheek and goes to sit with Lee, Fred, and a few other boys at a nearby desk. Emma and Walter.

Snape bursts into the room and storms to the front of the class, "I need textbooks open and parchment out... The wit-sharpening potion is not an easy thing to perfect." He scowls at the class as we fumple to get our things out and open.

Walter pulls out his ink bottle and instantly spills it everywhere. Emma shrieks and knocks over her cauldron sending it down to the floor with a big crash. The room goes quiet and Snape slowly walks over to our shared work space. "It appears that Mister Clarence is new to the concept of ink pots." H says calmly. Walter shrinks down under Snape's gaze. Snape flicks his hand upwards slightly and the ink disappears from the desk. "Ten points from Slytherin for sheer stupidity. Miss Fay... don't just stare at your cauldron like an idiot, pick it up off the floor." Snape looks away from us and to the rest of the class. "The wit-sharpening potion... clears the drinkers mind... meaning that spilling ones ink all over desks in my classroom wouldn't happen..."

A few Ravenclaw students snicker but I shoot them a look and they all stop. "God I hate Snape." Emma whispers, ensuring that only Wally and I could hear her.

Snape looks back around the classroom, "What are you all waiting for? Go brew your potions... I will review the major steps once everyone has finished a...perfect... potion. Begin."

I skim the recipe in my textbook, "Armadillo bile? That's disgusting."

"That's the thing I hate about potions. Cause we put all these nasty things in a pot, stir it a few times and then we are supposed to drink it? Vile." Emma says gagging at the thought.

We all get up and go line up outside of the ingredients cupboard so we can get our supplies. George, Lee, and Fred come over to stand with us, annoying Cedric and a few other Hufflepuff students that are waiting behind us.

"Good going Wally. Great way to start the class." Lee says wrapping his arms around Walters torso.

"Literally fuck you Jordan." Walter says kissing the top of Lee's head softly.

George comes up behind me, wraps his arms around my stomach and rests his chin on my shoulder, swaying me side to side slowly. "You're so beautiful you know that?" He whispers into my ear before gently kissing my neck and ear lobe.

"Seriously? In the middle of class? Control yourself George." Fred groans watching me and his brother interact. The small line of students moves up as people find their ingredients. George lets go of me so we can move and not be awkward.

"Has anything happened with you and..." I glance over at Angelina and a few other Gryffindor girls, "you know." I say wiggling my eyebrows.

Fred goes bright red, "I haven't got a clue what you're talking about." He says matter of factly.

Lee snickers, "Oh sure so you and her just sit around the common room into the early hours of the morning as friends?"

Emma's mouth falls open and her eyes go wide, "Look at yooouuu! Fred fookin Weasley. A ladies man." Emma says shoving Fred's shoulder slightly.

"And this is why I didn't want to say anything. You people suck." Fred says sticking his tongue out at Lee.

When it is finally our turn to get our things from the cupboard, George and I pick up six ingredient bowls and line them up so that we can all dish out what we need. "I need to finish the composition for Lupins class on the tongue-tying curse. Meet me after dinner to work on it?" George asks me as he measures out six different increments of armadillo bile.

Emma comes up behind us and puts the jar of newt spleens on the table George and I are working on, "I haven't finished that either. I'll come with you." She says. George passes her the jar of bile to put back on the shelves. "Hey boys! Have you finished that composition for Lupins class? We are gonna go to the library to work after dinner." Emma says to the rest of the group.

"Yeah sounds like a plan Em." Walter says.

George sighs beside me and drops his head, "I love our friends, I really do. But Merlin's beard do they make it difficult to see you one on one."

I nudge him with my shoulder a bit, "Oh come on. With all of us there, we will get it done faster. Then we can bum around the castle somewhere just the two of us till curfew." I pull out three newt spleens for each bowl and put the lid back onto the jar.

"But it would be a lot more fun if it was just the two of us." George nudges me back.

I turn away from the bowls of stuff and look at him, "Mmhmm by the look on your face, we wouldn't have been getting any work done if it was just the two of us."

George's smirk changes into a full blown smile, "And would that be such a bad thing?"

I move closer to George so we are touching but barley, "No I don't think it would be..." I whisper. George's eyes sparkle, "But... studies come first and you know that." I move away from him again when Walter comes over with the scarab beetles and ginger root for our potions.

"The amount of jokes I could make right now." George tells me. He opens the ginger root and measures it out accordingly.

"You're gonna make those jokes anyways." I finish up measuring the scarab beetles for everyone and call Emma, Wally, Lee, and Fred over to get their bowls.

'Well now it's just obvious." George says as we walk back to our respective desks.

We spend the next two hours stirring and measuring, and watching Walter mess up his potion. At the end of class the only people that had a potion that was up to Snape's standards were Amanda from Ravenclaw, Cedric, from Hufflepuff, and me. "Ten points... for everyone who have completed the potion properly. By next class I need two and a half feet of parchment... on uses for the wit-sharpening potion... which I'm sure Mister Clarence will have no problem writing... Class dismissed." Snape says. The bell rings almost as soon as he finishes his sentence and we all pack our things and head out of the classroom.

"How the hell do you manage to get every single teacher to like you? Even Snape likes you." Lee says to me as we walk out of our class.

I shrug my shoulder bag higher up, "My aunt always told us that studies come before every thing. If you don't have the right grades in school no one will take you seriously. She started teaching Draco and I at home before we came here. I was a better student than he was obviously. By first year I knew all the spells that third years were just beginning to learn."

"Imagine being rich enough that your parents could sit at home and teach you everything. Couldn't be me." Fred says. I know he's joking but comments about my families wealth have always made me uncomfortable. It's not like I asked to have money. Hell, it's not even my money its my families.

George, who knows that comments about my families money don't sit right with me starts to talk about what he wants to do during his spare period. "I have to run to Ancient Ruins. I'll meet up with you all after lunch. We all have a free period then right?" I say when we reach the grand staircase.

Emma nods, "Course. Wally and I have to head into Ghoul Studies now too. See you all later." Emma pulls on Walter's arm but Wally manages to kiss Lee quickly before being dragged off by Em.

"Have fun in Ruins." George says to me. He kisses my lips which gives Fred the perfect opportunity to pretend to vomit violently behind us.

Before I head off to class I go over to Fred and peck his cheek, "You won't be vomiting when you're the one kissing someone." I say playfully before bounding up the stairs to the sixth floor.


	62. Part 3, Chapter 22

On the day of the next Hogsmeade trip, the six of us make plans to grab a butterbeer and just sort of hang out. George and Fred have run out of pocket money so neither of them are that exited about going to Hogsmeade to watch all the students buying the things from Zonkos that they can't.

Emma spins around holding two different outfits in front of her, "Which one? Cozy chic? Or 'I don't care about the weather I'm going to look cute' chic?"

I pull on a light blue pair of jeans and stand up from my bed to do up the black leather belt I got for Christmas. "There's still snow on the ground Em."

"So you're saying...?"

I roll my eyes and pull a green and black tartan and pull it on, "I'm saying, I don't care what you wear but I really don't want to hear you complain about the cold all day." I finish the last button on my shirt and tuck the bottom into my pants.

Emma throws a balled-up sock at me and we laugh, "I'm serious! What should I wear?"

I sit back on my bed and pull out a pair of long black hiking boots from under it, "Why do you care so much? It's just Hogsmeade." I pull on the wool socks Molly made for me and shove my feet into my boots.

Emma throws both her outfits onto her bed and sighs, "I care because you and the others put the idea in my head that Fred is the love of my life or whatever and now I feel like I have to look good whenever I'm around him."

I wrap my house scarf around my shoulders and look at her. "That was like two weeks ago. You aren't still worked up about a joke are you?"

Emma looks from the outfits thrown across her bed to me. "Course I'm not. But it wasn't totally a joke, I mean that is what I smell when I'm around that potion."

I look at Emma with my head tilted a bit, "Cozy chic, if I know anything, I know the Weasley boys. If you really are soul mates or whatever, he'll like that outfit more."

Emma squeals and quickly changes into a dark red blouse and black dress pants before topping it off with a beret, her house scarf, and a long black coat. She twirls around twice in her bare feet laughing which makes me laugh and she shoves her feet in socks and shoes.

I stand up, grab my black velvet coat from the footboard on my bed and put my hands in my pockets to make sure I have my coin purse. "Alright lets go, the boys are waiting for us."

Sure enough, when we get out of the common room The Weasleys boys plus Lee and Walter are waiting for us. Lee and Wally are standing a little further away from everyone acting all cute and cuddly.

"God you're attractive." George says to me. I walk over to him and kiss him gently.

I look over at Fred who is sort of left alone and awkward, "Doesn't Emma look good today Fred?" I joke.

Everyone laughs and Fred goes a deep shade of red, "Can we just get going? I told Katie, Angelina, and Kenneth that we would meet him at the Three Broomsticks."

I whip my head around and look at George with wide eyes, "Angelina's coming?" I whisper to him.

George smiles and looks from me to his brother who is now walking away from us with Lee and Walter walking behind him, "Apparently. Don't make a big deal about it though. I don't want him to get uncomfortable and bail."

I take Georges hand in mine and intertwine our fingers, "He's such a cocky bastard when you first meet him. You never would suspect that he's such a sensitive guy." George and I start walking towards the courtyard to meet up with the rest of the students going.

"I'm the same way." George says, "It takes a while to really get past that cocky exterior." I start laughing, really hard. "What's so funny?"

"I love you, but you're not as cocky as you want people to think you are." I say, George scoffs. "You're the sweetest littlest boy with a heart of gold who love a good joke. Freddie's got an ego bigger than Hogwarts itself and it takes time to find the heart of gold he's got buried in there."

"Never call me 'the sweetest littlest boy' ever again. You sound like my mother." George groans.

I nudge George with my elbow, "What's so bad with sounding like your mother? Molly is amazing."

George opens the door to the courtyard and we both walk through it, "Well if I thought about my mother the way that I think about you, I'd have some serious problems." George jokes.

"George oh my god!" I shriek, bumping him with my hip. George starts laughing. We go over to Fred and the others, George is still laughing at his own joke.

"What's so funny Georgie?" Fred asks. He looks from his brother to me, but there's no way in hell I'm going to repeat what he just said.

"Just a little humor between lovers. Nothing worth repeating." George says, making me laugh.

The group starts to move out of the courtyard and down the path to Hogsmeade. Walter and Lee walk ahead of us, fingers interlocked, swinging their arms slowly. The height difference between them is adorable. Lee's head barley reaches Walters shoulder when they are standing side by side.

"They're cute together right?" Emma says watching Lee and Walter.

"I hate couples. All they do is just walk around being all touchy and shit. I want my friend back." Fred says. He tries to sound as disgusted as he possibly can but the smile on his face as he watches Lee and Walter interact says that he's happy for them.

"You may hate couples. But we love you!" I say. I take my hand away from George and jump onto Freds back, wrapping my arms and legs around him. He staggers under my weight but to my surprise he doesn't drop me.

Everyone laughs and Fred hikes me up his back a little more so I don't fall off. "Now I just hate you." He says. But he doesn't shake me off him. I stay on his back for a while. Fred and George talk about the final quidditch match that's taking place after the Easter holiday.

"I need to buy more ink before we go into the Three Broomsticks. And I bet you that Walter has to do the same thing." Emma says. She's walking beside Fred but looking up at me.

"I kind of want to spend some alone time with George so I'm going to try to get him to come with me to Tomes and Scrolls." I tell her.

"You sure you're not going to book a room in Hogs Head?" Emma says. I tap Freds shoulders and he lets me off his back. I touch George's shoulder gently before I take Emmas hand and slow our pace a bit so that we are alone.

"George keeps asking me to be one on one with him. I know he wants to hook up?" Emma and I both start to laugh really hard, "I know that's not the exact wording but you know what I mean. And its not like I don't want to, I really do. But... dunno, school comes before something that my aunt and uncle aren't going to let continue when I'm out of here."

Emma nods slowly taking all of the information in. "I think... that absolute bullshit." I snort and Emma howls with laughter. "I'm serious Violet. Who cares what your family says? Live in the moment and do what makes you happy. You'll sort everything out eventually."

I look at her with a big smile on my face, "Out of all the things I expected you to say, that wasn't one of them honestly."

Emma shrugs and smiles, "We only have two years left of this then you and I are both going to be forced to become Death Eaters. Why not just live in the moment for a change?"

I throw my arm around her shoulders and I kiss her temple very dramatically, "We are two fucked up peas in a pod aren't we?"

Emma laughs, "We're in it till the end. Together forever and all that shit."


	63. Part 3, Chapter 23

It doesn't take long till we all get to Hogsmeade. Emma, Walter, and Lee go off to find ink, Fred heads to the Three Broomsticks to hang out with Angelina and the others. Leaving George and I by ourselves.

"Come to Tomes and Scrolls with me. I want to get a new journal." I pull on George's arm a little and he pulls me back towards him.

"We have the whole day to ourselves and you want to buy a new journal?" George says

I put my hand oh his chest and pat him gently, "Only for a little bit. Then we can do whatever you want to do."

George raises his eyebrows and drags me off to Tomes and Scrolls. As I said, it doesn't take long for me to find a journal and buy it. Especially with the help of an anxious George.

As soon as the witch behind the counter hands me my journal and the parchment with the purchase information on it George pulls me out of the store laughing. "Alright okay god! What do you want to do now hmm?"

George spins around, cupping my face in his hands and brushing his nose up against mine. "This." He kisses my lips, slowly, deeply, passionate. We haven't kissed like this in what feels like months and my heart swells. I put one hand on the back of his neck and the other one in his hair pulling him closer towards me.

"Excuse me!" Percy calls from a ways away.

George pulls away from me, "Fuck." He whispers. "Hey Perce. Penelope. How are we?"

George's older brother comes pushing through the crowd, with is girlfriend Penelope Clearwater following close behind. "How are you both today? Violet you look good, not as good as my dearest here of course." Percy brings Penelope's hand up to his mouth and kisses is very gently.

"We are just about to head over to the tea shop for a bite to eat. Let's make it a double date." Penelope says. Her voice is very high pitch and she pronounces literally every single letter when she talks. Apparently George hasn't heard her speak before either and we both stifle a laugh.

"We would love to, but we already have plans with our friends at the Three Broomsticks." I say, George winces so I know I've said the wrong thing.

Percy looks at me, then at his brother, "George Weasley. You cannot be serious, you're spending the pocket money mother and father gave you on butterbeer?"

The eye roll that George gives his brother is Malfoy level sass, "And your spending your pocket money on little sandwiches with the crust cut off. Mind your business please and thank you." He says a lot more calmly than I thought it would have been.

Penelope and I look at each other, not really knowing what to do. Percy scoffs, "At least my girlfriend is civil enough to sit at a tea table."

George stiffens up, I don't have to see his face to know that the vein in his forehead is popping out right now. "Percy. You're a gem. But you and I both know that I was raised by the Malfoys. I'm as proper as they come. But tea is fucking boring." I say to Percy with a smirk on my face. George instantly relaxes and laughs. Even Penelope cracks a smile.

"I meant no offense Violet, truly. I just-" Percy starts.

I shake my head a little, "I know what you meant. That I'm quote, uncivil, because I spend time with your brothers that you don't particularly like. It's alright. But please, if you're going to tell me that I'm too uncivil for tea, at least do it with good posture." I say. Percy goes red in the face, George snorts, Penelope, bless her soul, is very confused. I pat George's bicep, "Better be off then, what do you think Georgie? Don't want to keep these lovely people from their lunch plans."

George takes my hand in his, "You're very right. I'll see you later Percy-kins." George says winking at his brother making everything more awkward for Percy and a lot more fun for George and I.

George and I start to walk towards the Three Broomsticks to meet up with everyone else. As soon as we were far enough away from Percy and Penelope, George pulls on my arm, picks me up, and spins me around in the air laughing. "I can't believe you. Telling Percy off like that? That was some serious Weasley energy."

I laugh and he puts me back on my feet, "Okay, but that eye roll when you got mad? I think I'm a bad influence on you."

George hums, "Dunno, you're the one that's uncivil after spending time with Fred and I."

George and I walk into the three broomsticks hand in hand. Our friends are already sitting in a really big booth in the far corner. "Guess who just told off our head boy?" George says as he slides into the left side of the booth.

Emma schootches closer to Kenneth so I can sit beside her. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say that it was you?" Katie asks looking at George.

George shakes his head, "My stunning girlfriend Violet LeStrange gave Percy a piece of her mind when he called her uncivilized."

Everyone at the table cheers a rather monotone 'ayy' and Fred reaches down the table to give me a high five. "What'd you say?" Fred asks.

George starts a longwinded, over the top, dramatic retelling of what happened. I call Madam Rosmerta over and order everyone a butterbeer.

The rest of the day was spent in that booth, talking and laughing about nothing in particular. Fred and Angelina got closer and closer throughout the day. Emma and Kenneth started their own little conversation and stuck to it through the majority of the time we spent there.

"Hogwarts students! Please meet the staff at the gates! It's time to go back!" Professor Flitwick calls from the pubs front door.

Katie chugs the last of her drink and we all get up from the booth and make our way outside. Before I follow everyone I drop four Galleons and a few knuts on the table for payment and a tip before jogging after my friends. "You know you didn't have to do that. Buy all of our drinks like that." Angelina says.

I brush her off with my hand, "I didn't have to but I wanted to. Its alright trust me." I tell her. Angelina looks at me and nods before talking to Fred again about the next quidditch practice.

"Violet! You have a broom. Why don't you fly with us one weekend? Nothing serious, just for fun." Katie says coming up behind me and walking on my left.

George laughs, "Violet doesn't fly in front of people. She's a tad bit shy." He puts his hand in my back jean pocket.

Katie giggles to herself. I scoff, "I am not shy. I'm actually a fantastic flyer Katie. My uncle paid for lessons when Draco and I were children. I just can't stand quidditch." I say. Katie and Angelina both audibly gasp. "I love it when George plays though. And Draco. Basically whenever someone I love is on the pitch is when I gain interest."

"That's the cutest thing I've ever heard." Angelina says in a soft baby voice.

I can't see his face from this angle that I'm standing at but I can feel his eyes on me, watching my every move, "I told you guys that she's adorable." He says, making me smile and get butterflies in my stomach.

The walk back to Hogwarts was interesting to say the least. Walter and Lee walked together ahead of us, George and I walked behind everyone and Angelina, Katie, and Emma basically fought for Freds attention, leaving Kenneth as the awkward fifth wheel.

"Why is Em suddenly interested in Fred?" George asks me quietly. I watch her as she puts her hand on his shoulder and softly runs it down his arm as he's talking.

"We freaked her out with that love potion talk. It took forever for her to pick out an outfit today.

"Did it take forever for you to pick out an outfit?"

"Absolutely not, I'm past the 'I have to look good so that George Weasley will notice me' thing."

George turns a little so he can see me properly, "You mean there was a 'I have to look good so that George Weasley will notice me' phase?"

"Course I did! You truly believe that you were the one who started flirting first? Don't make me laugh."

George smiles at his feet, "Alright, when did the phase start? I deserve to know that much."

"Beginning of third year. Started brushing my hair and shit."

George laughs, like a proper belly laugh, "You definitely didn't start flirting before I did. I started paying attention to how I looked around you since second year. Ask Freddie."

Fred turns around and starts to walk backwards so he can see George and I, "I heard my name? You two better not be talking crap."

"When did Georgie boy over here start trying to look good around me?" I ask him.

Fred puts his hand to his face and rubs his chin a bit, "Second year... Definitely. He started making sure his robes weren't wrinkled and flattening his hair and shit. I made fun of him every day for it. Never thought you two would actually happen honestly." Fred winks at me and turns back around. My favourite thing about Fred is no matter how much he makes fun of George and I, he loves the both of us.

George looks at me, "See? Told you. I liked you first."

"Alright, but I was the first one to admit it."


	64. Part 3, Chapter 24

The next time I really see George is Easter holiday. Unlike last year though, nearly everyone stays at the school, because without any real threat to our safety there's no real point going anywhere. Well I say no real threat like no one is turning up paralyzed. Sirius Black and Dementors are still a very real thing.

"I give up. Like truly. I'm not studying anymore." Fred cries. He pushes his textbooks halfway across the desk the six of us are sitting at.

"Oi, be careful! I can't afford to spill another pot of ink this year." Walter says grabbing his inkpot to take it away from Freds side of the desk.

Emma looks up from the star map she's working on, "Fred it's not that hard. Just turn the map around so the horizon for the direction you're facing is right side up. The center of the map represents the part of the sky that is directly overhead."

Fred scoffs, "Em that's not-"

Emma just continues talking, "So a star that's plotted halfway from the edge to the center can be found about halfway up the sky. Halfway from horizontal to overhead."

I look up from my Divination textbook and look from a very tired Emma to a very confused Fred. "Em that's lovely, but I'm studying Transfiguration right now." Fred laughs.

Lee, Walter, George, and I all look around the table before bursting into laughter, laughter so loud we can barley hear Emma when she says "I'm tired okay!"

"Excuse me? This is a library not a common room. Three points from every student at this table. Don't make me take more." Madam Pince says coming up behind George and I's side of the table.

"Course ma'am sorry to disturb." Lee says. He stands up from his chair and waves his hand in the air, "Sorry everyone! Just a couple of fifth years struggling to study for our OWLs nothing to see here!" He shouts through the library. Walter grabs Lee's arm and pulls him back down into his chair.

Ron and his friends who are sitting a few desks away turn and look at us all. Ron and Madam Pince have the same look on their faces. Annoyance with a little dash of amusement. "Ten points from Gryffindor Mister Jordan." Madam Pince says before turning around and going back into the bookshelves.

We all go back to pouring over our notes and books and things, "Vi, looks like you have an admirer." George whispers to me. He nods his head towards Ron and his friends. I look over at them and they all turn their heads back to their work. All except a kid I've never really noticed before.

"Who is that one?" I say looking at the boy for a second more before looking over to George.

"Dean Thomas. Same year as Ronald. He's coming over here." George says to me. He picks up his quill and continues to work on his composition for flying class.

Sure enough in a matter of seconds I can feel a presence standing beside me. I place my quill down on the desk beside my textbook and turn to look at him. "Yes?"

The Gryffindor boy, Dean Thomas apparently, shifts his weight from one foot to the other. Holding his Herbology book on his hand so awkwardly it looks like he's never held a book before in his life. "Uhm, well, uhm... I was... My name is Dean Thomas..."

Walter snorts and Emma swats him with a roll of parchment. I look at my friends for a moment and roll my eyes back to focus on Dean, "Yes Dean. I know your name. Why are you here?"

Walter is now full on laughing to himself, which makes Dean far more uncomfortable than he was before. "Well... I'm friends with Ron, Ron Weasley. And you're friends with his brothers, well more than friends with one of his brothers. And well, Ron told me that you help Draco with his studies... that's why he's doing really good this year... and well, I have a question... well more of something that I don't understand... and no one can help me... not eve Hermione which is really surprising...."

I put on my most unimpressed face and suck my teeth, "Do you know how to form a full sentence?"

Emma coughs to try and cover her laugh. I look at Dean with my eyes wide and my eyebrows raised. "Yes ma'am." Dean says quietly.

"Okay so let's hear one. Tell me why you're distracting me from my studies."

Dean takes a deep breath, "Could you possibly explain to me how exactly puffapod seeds flower? If it doesn't take to much time."

I gesture for him to come over, "Go get a chair and come sit down." I say. Dean looks relieved. He runs back over to his friends, picks up the chair hr was sitting on and comes rushing back over, knocking into someone else's desk on the way over.

In about fifteen minutes Dean fully understands the properties of a puffapod and is thanking me profusely. "Thank you so much Violet, or um LeStrange? Violet? I'm not sure, uhm thank you."

I nod once and brush him off with my hand. Finally turning back to my own work.

"You should charge honestly." George says once Dean is back with his friends.

I nudge him with my elbow, "Poor kid was scared to even ask me the question in the first place. I can't ask for money after that."

Walter clears his throat, "You might have to start charging, they're all coming over now." He says looking at the small group of third year Gryffindors coming over to us.

"Violet! Do you mind helping me with Astronomy? I could really use the help and you know that Fred and George are absolutely useless and Percy won't bother trying." Ron says putting his textbook on the desk. "And Harry needs help with Divination, and Seamus could use help with charms, Neville with potions..."

I sigh really deeply and close my eyes. "Fine, yeah. Pull up some chairs. We all have our strengths so we will all help you the best we can." I look at all my friends who are suddenly really interested in their own studies. "Right guys?"

Emma drops her head to the desk with a loud thud, "Hurry up and sit down then." Emma grumbles.

The rest of the day is spent tutoring basically the entire third year of the Gryffindor house. Which sounds a lot worse than it was. They all had their reservations towards me at first, "It's probably because of your cousin Violet. I mean he's sort of awful." Ron says trying to make me feel better. By the time the dinner bell rings we are all so exhausted that Lee doesn't realize that he forgot his bookbag in the library till we are at the great staircase and he has to run back and get it.

"Come find me after dinner. We can sneak off to have dessert." George whispers into my ear. He's so close to me his lips brush my ear when he speaks. Making my stomach lurch and butterflies fill my entire body.

"Georgie... we can't sneak out of the castle. We're under lockdown remember? Sirius Black almost killed your little brother." I hum.

George pulls me out of the way of a few students trying to get into the hall for dinner, "You leave the sneaking out and sneaking back in to me okay? Don't worry your cute little head about that part. Just find me after dinner."

"So you're telling me to trust that you won't get me in trouble?" I say with a with a smirk. I lick my lips for an added effect.

George rolls his head so he's looking up at the ceiling and he chuckles to himself before looking back at me, "When have I ever gotten you in trouble?"

"When we all snuck out to Honeydukes last year and I was caught by Snape?"

George scoffs and looks away from me for a moment, "Okay, I got you in trouble once."

I take George's chin in my hand and turn his face towards my own, "I'll see you after dinner. Dessert better be worth it."


	65. Part 3, Chapter 25

When dinner was over I say goodbye to Emma and Walter who make kissy faces and pretend to make out with each other. I give them the wanker sign and walk out of the hall and stand beside the wall of stone soldiers. George comes barrelling out of the hall, finds me, grabs my hand, and pulls me down a side corridor.

"You gonna tell me where we are going?" I laugh as we go into an empty classroom at the end of the hall.

"We're going outside. I'm tired of these walls." George says. He turns around and kisses me quickly before going over to a storage unit. "Babe come over here real quick and help me push this out of the way please?"

He's never called me babe before and it makes me melt inside. I go over and help him push the storage unit to the left, exposing nothing but a stone wall. "I know I'm supposed to trust you but I mean..."

George pulls his wand out of his robe pocket, "Come here look. This one has a rune on it. You take that class, what does it say?"

I bend down to the brick that George is looking at and read it carefully, "It just says open three times?"

"Exactly." George looks at me and winks, then he taps his wand three times on the stone whispering 'Alohomora' with each tap. The wall shifts and the stones fold in on themselves, exposing a very dark hole in the floor with a rickety old wooden ladder going so far down I can't see the bottom.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." I laugh to myself.

George shimmies into the hole and puts his feet on one of the ladders rungs. "Do you trust me?" He whispers to me, holding his hand out to me.

"Absolutely fucking not."

George laughs, "Come with me anyways." He starts to descend down the ladder and into the literal darkness. I sigh really deeply and curse his name under my breath before following him. "Hey, pull the cabinet back into place. There's a handle on the this side of it, moves really easily."

"I very much do not like this situation." I grumble before doing what George asks. He was right, I barley tug on the handle and the cabinet slides right into place. And as soon as the cabinet is in place the stones move back into the wall and we are officially in the dark.

"Don't worry I'm already at the bottom. It's not as long as it seems." George calls from below.

I practically fly down the ladder, one thing I absolutely hate is being alone in pitch black places. When my feet hit the solid ground and I can feel George beside me I calm down again. "Will you please tell me where this leads us?"

Instead of responding like a normal human being, George just takes my hand and leads me down an earthy smelling tunnel in the pitch black. He moves quickly, turning corners without a second thought. Then he stops, so suddenly that I bump into his back. "There's another ladder in front of us, going up this time. Then we are there I promise." George kisses my knuckles, "You'll love it."

He starts up the ladder and I follow right behind him, I hear a scraping noise and dim light floods the tunnel that we are in. George climbs out and reaches his hand back to help me out as well. Finally I know where we are. "The greenhouses?" I say looking around slowly. We are in one of the staff only greenhouses, the ones full of beautiful flowers. It smells like roses and dirt.

"There's supposed to be a big rainstorm in a little while. I thought it would be nice to watch it from in here." George says sheepishly.

I look at him standing in the middle of the room and smile, "That's the most adorable thing I've ever heard. You're sort of perfect aren't you?"

George pulls out a few ratty blankets that I assume he snuck in here earlier today and lays them on the ground. I go over and sit beside him, curling up into him. "I needed this. The stress of this year has been driving me crazy. Especially with Wood always on my back about quidditch." George says quietly. He runs a strand of my hair through his fingers and starts to play with it.

"I have a meeting with Snape soon about what I want to do after Hogwarts. Dunno what I'm going to tell him honestly." I mumble. Light rain starts to hit the glass roof, small tapping noises fills the silence.

"Tell him you want to be an ice cream scooper or whatever it is. That'll get you on his good side for sure." George says. His voice vibrates through my body softly.

I hit his chest softly, "I'm serious! I mean what is there to do out in the real world? Be an Auror? A teacher?"

George hums, "You should follow your artist dreams. Be a photographer like you've always wanted."

I snort, "Right because Lucius Malfoy would let his niece become an artist."

"Alright fair enough. A tutor? You're really good at doing that. Or an Alchemist?"

The rain gets harder, a roll of thunder is heard in the distance, "Tutor might be fun. I find it crazy that we have to figure out what we want to do with our lives at just fifteen years old."

"Speak for yourself, I'm sixteen as of a few days ago." George says matter of factly.

I move away a bit so I can look George in the face, "And that extra month between our birthdays makes you mature enough to figure out exactly what you want to do with the rest of your life?"

"Love I've known what I've wanted to do with the rest of my life since I was a kid. My meeting with McGonagall isn't going to be a long one."

A big fork of lightning flashes through the sky and rain starts pouring down from the sky. "God this is beautiful." I say to myself, looking up at the rain falling from the sky.

"You're not to bad yourself." George smirks. He turns to look at me, his eyes dart between my eyes and my lips. I take the hint and I kiss him. Very soft at first, and then passionate and steamy. It's not long before both of our robes are tossed to the other side of the greenhouse and things are happening.

"Happy belated birthday." I say after both of us are dressed again.

George laughs, "Fucking Christ Violet." He kisses me again but pulls away almost instantly, "Sprout, Sprout's coming this way." He says panicky.

I grab my tie, or at least I think it's my tie off the nearby stack of flower pots and George lunges over to the hidden trap door on the other side of the greenhouse. I grab the blankets off the floor and ball them up before running over to George. I throw them down the tunnel and carefully, start my decent down into the darkness again. George comes right after me, pulling the trap door closed behind him. Perfect timing too because we can hear the greenhouse door squeak open and footsteps above us. Thankfully the rain and thunder are so loud it masks any sounds that we make.

When I hit the ground I don't move so George can find me easily, I'd rather not get lost underground and be stuck here for years. He takes my hand and moves just as quickly as before through the tunnels. When we climb back out into the classroom George looks at me, "You look really good in Gryffindor colours you know?"

"What...?" I look at him wit furrowed eyebrows. He tugs the untied tie off from around my neck and only then do I notice that it's not mine. He takes the green tie from around his neck and puts it around mine.

"It's not curfew just yet so we have time to get back to our common rooms without getting in shit." George says looking at the big grandfather clock in the classroom.

"Perfect." I take his hand in my own and together we walk out of the classroom and back into the main hall.

"Naughty naughty! Violet LeStrange with measly Weasley!" Peeves sings as he races past us.

George laughs, "Peeves did you clog those toilets? Did Finch see you?"

Peeves spins in the air a few times cheering with glee, "Nice and cloggy, very soggy." He says before soaring down a different corridor.

"Peeves listens to you?" I say to George.

George laughs, "Course he does. Ever since Fred and I got to this school he's been our right hand man. Besides Lee of course."

George drops me off at the entrance to the dungeons so he can make it back up to the Gryffindor tower in time. I kiss him goodbye and go into my common room. Emma and Walter are sitting with a few older students by the fire. When they see me walk in they excuse themselves and come running over to me.

"You're going to come sit by the water and tell us everything." Emma shrieks. She pulls me over to the couch by the glass wall and forces me to sit down.

"So..." Where did he take you?"


	66. Part 3, Chapter 26

t's the day before the final quidditch match and I'm walking through the dungeons on my way to Snape's office to talk to him about my next steps after Hogwarts.

"Just tell him you're not quite sure." Emma says encouraging me.

"I know what I'm going to end up doing though. I'm going to become a death eater because my Uncle won't let me do anything else, then I'm probably going to be matched up with a wealthy pure blood boy and be forced to raise kids and teach them the ideology of the Dark Lord." I snap back at her. Emma's eyes go wide for a moment. "Fuck, I'm sorry Em. Didn't mean to snap like that."

"Just take a deep breath, it's not as bad as you think it's going to be. All he did was grumble when I said I wanted to be a journalist." Walter says trying to cheer me up.

"Yeah and he didn't say anything when I told him about my idea of a witch only broadcast." Emma says. She's back to her usual perky self.

"Okay but those are both genuine ideas. I have literally nothing I'm passionate about."

Emma and Walter look at each other, "You're really good at taking pictures. You have like three books full of pictures of us doing stupid shit." Emma says. She puts her hand on my shoulder and squeezes a little.

We get to the door to Snape's office and I sigh. "Fuck it." I whisper before I knock on the door.

"Enter..." Snape's voice calls from inside. I look at my friends who nod and give me thumbs up before I turn the door handle and step into the room.

His office has floor to ceiling bookshelves on every wall, full of a mixture of books, potion ingredients, and candles. His desk is in the direct middle of the room, three candles in the left corner and a roll of parchment with an ink pot and a quill sit in front of him. Other than that the desk is clean.

Snape sits on a big, black, leather chair behind his desk. He gestures at the empty, identical chair in front of his desk, "Sit down Miss Lestrange... I don't have all day..."

I nod and step deeper into the room, and sit gingerly on the leather chair.

There's an awkward silence, then Snape says, "So... what do you plan on accomplishing in your... life?"

I take a deep breath, "Well, I've learned this year that I am really good at teaching and helping students understand things..."

"So you want to be a Hogwarts Professor." Snape says cutting me off mid sentence.

"I was considering that, but being away from my family for the better part of the year is a little..."

Snape rolls his eyes, "So a tutor? You want to go to houses that have young wizards... to teach them things that their idiot parents can't?"

I don't say anything, I just nod a few times. Snape leans in closer, "You are aware that your family... demands a specific kind of respect amongst wizards correct?"

I nod again, "Yessir. My Uncle Lucius hired a tutor for Draco and I before we started at Hogwarts. I would love to do the same for other families."

Snape nods slowly, "The Malfoys and the Blacks are two of oldest...purest... wizarding families left... That comes with certain responsibilities... are you willing to put those responsibilities over your own agenda?"

I tilt my head a bit in confusion, "You mean... becoming a Death Eater sir?"

Snape leans back into his chair, "In a matter of speaking I suppose..."

It feels like the room drops like ten degrees, I squirm under Snape's cold gaze a little, "Uhm... sorry sir that seems like a personal, family, matter. Not something to be discussed with a professor."

Snape picks up his quill, dips it in ink, and rolls out his parchment, which I can now see is a list of fifth year Slytherins. "A home tutor... requires a minimum of ten OWLs and five NEWTs in varying subjects... Which is more than a Professor because tutors must be knowledgeable in multiple subjects... I would recommend taking Potions, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, and Herbology during your NEWT years in order to meet your goals... I would also suggest our Apparition class that we offer in both sixth and seventh year which will help tremendously travelling from one house to the other...However that class costs twelve galleons each year... by the end of seventh year you will receive your Apparition license..."

I nod a few times taking everything Snape has said into consideration, "Alright..."

Snape writes 'Home Tutor' beside my name on his parchment, "As long as you continue doing well in your classes... I don't see any real reason to turn you in a different... direction..." Snape looks at me, his face showing zero emotion like normal. "You may go now Miss LeStrange... Wish your cousin luck in the quidditch match tomorrow..."

I nod and get up from the chair, "I will professor, thank you." I get out of his office as soon as possible. Emma and Walter are leaning on the wall just outside the door but they jump off it as soon as the door closes behind me.

"So? How was it? What did he say?" Walter says.

I walk over to my friends and throw up my hands in defeat. "Well, I'm going to become a home tutor for young wizards before they get to Hogwarts... which is fine, I sort of like that idea. But it got weird when he asked if I was willing to 'put my families responsibilities over my own personal agenda."

Emma furrows her eyebrows together, her cheekbones sort of pop out of her face, "He wasn't talking about...?"

I nod, "But he was though, I asked if he was talking about becoming a death eater and his exact words were 'in a matter of speaking I suppose' can professors even ask something like that?"

Walter shakes his head, "I doubt it. You should talk to Dumbledore, it's probably breaking like a million rules."

We start to walk down the corridor, passing Henrietta on the way, probably going to her meeting with Snape. "Absolutely not, not a chance I'm bringing this to the Headmaster. I sort of told Snape off anyways. Told him it was inappropriate to ask me that and how it's more of a family thing."

"He never asked me about something like that. And it's pretty well known that my parents are Death Eaters." Emma says looking at her feet.

"True... But the Malfoys and the Blacks are notorious you know? Like everyone knows who my family is, even muggleborns know us." I look at both Walter and Emma who look a little uncomfortable. "It's true though."

"So..." Walter says. "What NEWTs do you have to take next year?"

I let out one really loud 'HA!' and Emma and Walter laugh, "All of them pretty much. Potions, charms, D.A.D, transfiguration, herbology, and I have to take Apparition."

Walter shoves me a little, "I have to take charms, D.A.D and herbology so at least we will be in those together."

"And I have to take Transfiguration, charms, and Herbology. I'm also going to get money from my parents for Apparition because I think that's the coolest thing in the world." Emma says cheerily.

Walter nods enthusiastically, "I want to learn how to Apparirate too. So together we'll have herbology and Apparition."

We walk right out of the dungeons and start going up the stairs, no real destination in mind. "Do you ever feel like it would be easier to be a muggle? I mean they don't have to deal with OWLs and NEWTs and choosing a job at sixteen." Emma says.

"They start school when they are five pretty much and go to school till they are eighteen. Then they decide if they want to go to more school after they graduate." Walter says quickly.

Emma looks at him with a very confused look on her face. That's when it hits me, Wally still hasn't told her that he's a half blood. "How do you know that?" Emma asks him after a moment.

Walter sighs, "Cause my mother is a muggle. My parents sent me to muggle school till I was eleven then they sent me here, to Hogwarts. My dad comes from a pureblood family, raised on the same beliefs you guys did. Even became a death eater during the first wizarding war. But he loved my mother too much to continue with them."

Emma is stunned. I take Walters hand in my own and squeeze it gently. Emma sucks her teeth and shakes her head, "What do they actually teach in muggle school? I've always been curious." Emma says. Walters shoulders slump in relief. I could tell he was terrified of losing a friend.

"Nothing that's even useful if I'm being honest with you."


	67. Part 3, Chapter 27

On the day of the final quidditch match, Draco comes bursting into my dorm at six o'clock in the morning. Which only makes Miriam, Henrietta, and Clarissa scream in horror because technically he's not supposed to be in here.

"Violet! Why aren't you awake yet? Hurry up!" Draco shouts. He comes running over to my bed and throws himself on top of me.

I groan and open one eye to look at him, "I'm not on the team! I don't have to get up for another hour." I grumble.

Draco sits up and hits me with a spare pillow off of my bed, "Can you just please get up?" He then leaves my room, apologising to the other girls. Emma throws her pillow across the room aiming for Draco's head as he leaves.

I get up and stretch out my back before putting on jeans and my brightest green blouse I own. I also put on a really adorable pair of black heels that Aunt Narcissa bought for my birthday last year. Ever since third year I started to dress a lot more posh and professional, basing my look after my aunt and the other rich, old families that we associate ourselves with.

I grab my coat and scarf so I don't have to come back in my room for it later and try my hardest to leave the room as silent as possible, my heels softly clicking on the stone floor. The rest of the quidditch team is shuffling around the common room talking to each other and getting ready for the big game. All except Draco who is sitting alone in the middle of the stone floor cross legged.

"The hell are you doing down there Dray?" I say walking over to him and standing above him.

Draco looks up at me, "You look like mother when you look at me like that."

I laugh and sit down on the floor beside him. "Why am I up this early? What's up?"

"Just nervous is all. Last game of the year, if we win we win the house cup. And Potters never missed a single snitch. Except for the dementor incident but that was a special case."

I nod a few times before talking, "You're a fantastic flyer Draco. The best seeker we've had on the team in years."

Draco laughs to himself, "You'll be cheering for us today right?" He says after a minute of silence.

"Course I will what kind of question is that?"

He shrugs, "Weasleys on the other team. And you like him more than me so..."

I hit Draco's arm softly, "In no way shape or form do I like him more than you. Draco you're my cousin... You're my brother."

Draco's face breaks into a smile that he tries very hard to hide. He nudges me with his shoulder a bit, "Fuck off." He says.

I rest my head on his shoulder, "Love you too asshat."

We sit like that till Flint comes over and clears his throat, "Malfoy, lets go. We have a game to win."

Draco and I stand up from the floor. "Go catch that snitch or else we are going to have some serious problems alright?" I say to Draco jokingly. Draco nods and heads out of the common room. I grab a hold of Flints arm before he has the chance to follow. "If Draco fucks up, if he doesn't catch the snitch. I don't want to hear a single word out of your mouth about it alright?" I whisper into his ear.

Flint laughs a very ugly laugh, "You know one of these days your going to have to let Draco fight his own battles."

I tighten my grip on his bicep, "I'll make you wish that you were never born you hear me?" I look into Marcus' eyes and we stand like that, staring at each other for what feels like forever before he pulls his arm away from me and marches out of the common room.

"What in the sexual tension was that?" Walter says from behind me. I spin around and my big oaf of a friend Walter is standing at the entrance to the boys dorms.

"I swear to merlin if that bastard even thinks about talking down to Draco I'll floss my teeth with his intestines." I snap.

"Seriously? I just woke up." Emma says from the other side of the room. The three of us all kind of look at each other before bursting into laughter. Emma and Walter both go back in their rooms to get changed before we all head out to an early breakfast.

The three of us get to the great hall the same time the Gryffindor team plus Lee gets there. Walter goes over to Lee and kisses his forehead and they start talking about god knows what. Emma nods at Fred, then nods at Oliver before she goes into the great hall. George nods at his team and they all file into the hall leaving George and I alone.

"Ready for the big day?" I ask him. He comes over to me and puts his hands on my hips, I rest my wrists on his shoulders out of habit.

"We're gonna win the cup or it's the last thing we do. Literally, Oliver will kill us all if Draco even touches the snitch with his finger tips." George says.

I step up to my tippy toes and kiss his forehead softly. "I love you but I really want Slytherin to win. Draco needs this."

"I love you, but I really want Gryffindor to win. I can't deal with Oliver if we lose. He'd probably take an eighth year just to get the chance again."

"Yeah... but maybe you could throw the game and let Slytherin take the cup so that Draco has something to be happy about for a while." I moves my hand very slowly down George's chest and place a kiss on his jawline in my attempts to persuade him to let Slytherin win.

Of course it doesn't work though because George Weasley loves quidditch and he plays fair and takes pride in that. Instead of saying anything he just kisses my forehead and ruffles my hair before heading into the great hall with the rest of his team.

Emma, Walter and I end up sitting on the far end of the Slytherin table, away from the team so they can talk strategy before the game. Slowly but surely the rest of the school starts to file into the hall for breakfast. Nearly every student but the Slytherins have red and gold face paint on. You have to admit, the fact that the entire school hates Slytherin for no real reason is pretty impressive.

"At least its not freezing cold outside." Emma says cheerily.

"Or raining. The suns a bit bright though which will make it harder on the players eyes." Wally adds. He looks at me and he can tell that I'm nervous for Draco. "Makes it easier for the seekers though, the snitch reflects sunlight." He adds, in his attempt to make me feel better.


	68. Part 3, Chapter 28

Breakfast was short, the school full of excitement for the big game. Even the professors are wearing their house colours. All except Snape of course who is wearing his big black robes like every other day of his life. "I wonder if he wears all those robes to hide his body. Maybe he's half-goat or something and has to hide his legs to keep the job." Emma says. We all stare as Snape walks across the field towards the pitch.

"He would have a limp if he had goat legs wouldn't he?" Wally says tilting his head to the side trying to get a better look.

"What the hell are you two even talking about?" I laugh. When we get to the pitch and find seats Emma pulls out silver and green makeup and paints both me and Walter's cheeks to show our house spirit.

"Is it just me, or do you all feel very isolated when the entire school is rooting for everyone but you?" Emma says looking around the pitch. All the Slytherins, all seventy of us, have grouped together behind the Slytherin goal posts. Everyone else in the school seems to be wearing red and gold.

"Its because everyone sees Death Eaters and overall shitty people when they look at us," Walter says very matter of factly.

Madam Hooch steps onto the pitch and the whole school erupts into cheers. She raises her left hand and the Slytherin team comes walking out, being lead by Marcus Flint and Draco. The crowd mostly boos and shouts ugly things but the Slytherins are loud enough to drown most of it out. When Madam Hooch raises her right hand the Gryffindor team comes marching onto the field and I swear the entire pitch shakes with the noise that erupts from the eager students.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls! Today we are witnessing history! The final quidditch match this year!" Lee's voice blares through the air. "On the left we have the Slytherin team! Lead by Marcus Flint! He's made some changes in the line-up and seems to be going for size rather than skill-" The crowd roars with laughter and cheering.

"Draco's the smallest one on the team! What the hell is Flint thinking?" I half yell.

The students in front of me turn around and glare at me. I stick my hand in my back pocket, wrapping my fingers around my wand as a show of confidence.

"And on the right we have the Gryffindors!" Lee shouts. Cheering erupts from every side of the pitch except for the group of Slytherins who try our very best to drown out the cheers with our booing. "Potter, Bell, Johnson, Spinnet, Weasley... another Weasley, and Wood. Widely acknowledged as the best side Hogwarts has seen in a good few years!" Another wave of cheers and boos fill the pitch.

Both captains step to the middle of the pitch where Madam Hooch was waiting. "Captains! Shake hands!" Madam Hooch yells. We all watch as Flint and Wood grab each others hands and shake once, very hard. Both of them look like they are trying to crush each others hands. "Mount your brooms!"

"Oh god. Here we go." Emma mumbles, she puts her hands over her eyes but looks through the gaps in her fingers.

"Three!... Two!... One!..." Madam Hooch screams. I figure she blows the whistle around her neck but I can only assume because no one can hear anything with the roar of cheers coming from the crowd.

"And its Gryffindor in possession! Alicia Spinnet of Gryffindor with the quaffle, heading straight for the Slytherin goalposts, looking good, Alicia!" Lee commentates.

All of the Slytherins, myself included start to shout profanities and wave our hands and signs in the air wildly trying to cause a distraction.

"Argh, no- Quaffle has been intercepted by Warrington."

Everyone I know screams in triumph. We watch as Cassius speeds away from the Slytherin goalposts and towards the Gryffindor side. "Yes! YES! Go Go GOOO!" Walter screams pumping his fist in the air. I scan the air for George and I watch as he swings his bat at a passing bludger and sends it right for Cassius' head.

"I hate your boyfriend!" Emma shrieks. We watch as the quaffle falls from Cassius' grip and into the hands of Angelina Johnson on the Gryffindor team.

"Gryffindor back in possession, come on Angelina!, nice swerve round Montague- duck Angelina that's a bludger!" Lee is practically screaming now.

"FUCK!" Nearly all the Slytherins scream in unison. We start screaming and waving our hands around again trying to distract Angelina but it doesn't work. Gryffindor scores.

"TEN- ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!" Lee shouts. I don't have to see him to know hes fully jumping up and down right now, I can hear it in his voice.

Angelina soars over us pumping her fist in the air in victory. She flies halfway around the edge of the pitch until -WHAM- Marcus Flint goes soaring into Angelina's side nearly throwing her off her broom completely.

There's a mixture of annoyance and joy through my house. "Jesus fucking Christ Flint!" I yell.

But just as we thought the drama was over and done with, Fred whips his beaters club at the back of Flints head. I grab Walters binoculars away from him and watch as Flint grabs his now bloody nose in his hand. Fred looking very pleased with himself. Madam Hooch races her broom from one side of the pitch to the other and places herself in between Flint and the Gryffindor team.

"Madam Hooch had given both teams a penalty for unprovoked violence against their chasers even thought I'm a firm believer that Weasley was just acting in self defence because if Flint could attack Angelina..." Lee is drowned out by the crowd once again.

"And he says he doesn't like her." Walter says laughing.

Alicia flies forward to take the Gryffindor penalty. She soars through the air with ease, lines up her shot and the quaffle soars perfectly into one of the goalposts.

"The bloody hell was that Bletchley!" Someone from behind us screams at our keeper. To be fair Miles just watched the quaffle go through the post instead of actually trying to stop it.

Its our turn to take the penalty shot, which of course Flint takes because he thinks he's better than the whole team. Blood drips down to the ground beneath him. Madam Hooch blows her whistle and Flint sends the quaffle soaring towards the goal posts. Unfortunately for us, Wood is a fantastic keeper and blocks the shot perfectly.

The play starts up again, I'm torn between watching Draco search for the snitch and the actual game. "Gryffindor in possession, no, Slytherin in possession... No! Gryffindor back in possession and it's Katie Bell! Katie Bell for Gryffindor with the quaffle..."

"If Graham is gonna do what I think he's gonna do we are fucking screwed." Walter says. He points at Graham Montague who is soaring towards Katie Bell. In one swift motion, he swerves in front of Katie.

"Idiot!" I scream as I watch as Montague grabs a hold of Katie's head instead of the quaffle. She cartwheels on her broom, thankfully only dropping the quaffle in the process. "And this is why no one fucking likes us."

Madam Hooch blows her whistle again and awards Gryffindor with another penalty which they easily sink into our goal post. "THIRTY- ZERO! TAKE THAT YOU DIRTY CHEATING-" Lee screams.

"Jordan if you can't commentate in an unbiased way..." McGonagall says, her voice amplified throughout the pitch.

"Only telling it how it is professor!"

Suddenly, Harry dives for something, the crowd gasps, "Not fucking likely, Gryffindor wouldn't win the cup if he caught it this early." Walter says peering through his binoculars.

"So he's just trying to get Draco to follow him... And it's working." I watch as Draco dives after Harry, going as fast as he can. Both the Slytherin beaters come for Harry in opposite directions. Harry pulls up on his broom in the last second and Peregrine Derrek and Lucian Bole collide head first into each other with a sickening thump.

"How is everyone on this blasted team so FUCKING STUPID!" Emma roars. I think it's the first time I've seen her angry at a quidditch game and she was actually mad at the players and not some outside force.

"Ha haaa! Too bad boys! You'll need to get up earlier than that if you want to beat a Firebolt!" Lee cheers into the microphone. "And it's Gryffindor in possession again, as Johnson takes the quaffle, Flint along side her. POKE HIM IN THE EYE ANGELINA!" We can't see it but we can hear McGonagall wrestling with Lee for the microphone, "It was only a joke Professor... only a joke... Oh no Flint in possession."

We start screaming, Flint manages to get the quaffle past Oliver wood, finally putting Slytherin on the board. Emma claps her hands over her ears to protect herself from the surrounding noise as she screams in excitement.

"MOTHERFUCKER!" Lee screams into the microphone. Walter roars with laughter, he moves his binoculars away from the game to watch Lee in the stands, apparently now in a full tug of war with McGonagall over the microphone. "Sorry professor! Lost my cool there, won't happen again. Anyways Gryffindor in the lead thirty points to ten, and Gryffindor in possession."

I can tell my whole house is itching for a win. None of us very impressed that Gryffindor got such a big lead as soon as the game started. So upset about it in fact that Bole wacks Alicia with his bat claiming he thought she was a bludger.

"Damn it George just stay out of it." I mumble. I watch in a state of horror and attraction as George soars over to Lucian and elbows him in the face in retaliation.

"God I can't watch this." Emma sits down in her seat for the first time since the players first kicked off and buries her head in her hands. Violence and gore has never really been Emma's strong suit.

Katie Bell scores making it fifty to ten. Fred and George fly around the pitch with their bats in the air like they are preparing for a Slytherin retaliation. But instead of going after Katie, Bole and Derrek send the bludgers right towards Oliver Wood, hitting him in the stomach. He hunches over and looks like he's holding his broom for dear life.

"Do you know how thrilled I am that Draco is a seeker? Safest position on the team. If he was a chaser, or a beater even. I couldn't watch this." I say to Walter. Gryffindor gets another penalty and they sink it into our goal post with ease. Then they do it again. Gryffindor is up, seventy to ten.

"You sure you're so thrilled about Draco being a seeker?" Walter shouts over the noise of the crowd. He draws my attention upwards. Where Draco and Harry are racing for the snitch. Then he does something stupid. Draco grabs a hold of Harrys broom and tugs.

"Oh my fucking god." I groan. Sure, a brilliant idea on Draco's part but that's a total violation of so many different quidditch rules. I'm sure that by the end of the game Slytherin is going to break them all at this rate.

"YOU CHEATING SCUM! YOU FILTHY CHEATING BASTARD!" Lee screams. McGonagall doesn't even try to stop him this time.

Alicia takes Gryffindors penalty but because she was so mad she misses. We cheer and scream at her failure and watch as Montague takes the quaffle and sinks it into the Gryffindor goalpost. Angelina takes the quaffle and soars towards our goalposts. The entire team, besides Draco were speeding towards her in attempts to block her, even our stupid keeper Miles. Harry comes out of nowhere and shoots towards our players. Everyone scatters and Angelina makes a perfect shot.

"Look! Draco's spotted the snitch!" I scream jumping up and down and pointing at Draco. He dives down to the ground in a hurry, the snitch only a small glint against the green grass.

"Harry's spotted it too!" Walter roars. Emma looks up from her hands and watches in horror as Harry not only catches up to Draco but also snatches the snitch right out from underneath him.

"FUCK!" I scream. The entire pitch screams so loud that the floor underneath my feet shakes. The entire Gryffindor team soars over to Harry and they wrap each other in a big hug before floating down to the ground. All the Gryffindor students flood the pitch and lift the team in the air.

Not really wanting to watch the celebration, the Slytherins, myself included make our way off the pitch and back towards the castle. I excuse myself from my friends so I can go make sure that Draco is alright after the game but when I get to the Slytherin changing tent it's completely empty.

I wait for what feels like forever but no one ever comes out so I give up and start to walk back towards the castle alone. "Violet!" George calls from behind me.

Nearly forgetting that George was even playing. That George won the house cup. I turn on my heels and smile, "Congratulations Weasley!" I shout.

Still sweaty and out of breath from the game, George hikes his bag up over his shoulder a bit and jogs up to me. He wraps his arms around me and squeezes me tightly. "I can't believe I fucking won the house cup." He says. His voice muffled because he's speaking into my hair.

"Are you alright? That game was violent." I say pulling away from him. I look at his elbow, the one he hit Lucian with. It's red and slightly swollen. I carefully put my hand on top of it and he winces.

George looks down at it, "Hurts like a bitch but he deserved it. I love you with my whole heart and soul but I can't fucking stand the Slytherin quidditch team."

"They're all decent people off the pitch. Besides Flint. Can't stand that bastard."


	69. Part 3, Chapter 29

Next thing anyone knew it was nearly exam time. Which meant spending every spare second any of us had in the library quizzing each other on the material and making sure everyone understood everything we were talking about.

"I don't even know what exams we have first." Lee groans. He shuffles a bunch of parchment around looking for his exam schedule.

"Monday we have Charms in the morning and Care of Magical Creatures in the afternoon. You sure you understand all the material for those?" Walter says looking at his boyfriend.

"And what day is it today?" Fred says through a yawn. His nose is smudged with ink and his eyes red from a little mental breakdown he had nearly ten minutes ago.

"Uhhh... I dunno." Emma grumbles. She's managed to stack all her textbooks along with a few library books so that she can lean her cheek on it without compromising her posture too much.

"It's Sunday. Nearly dinner time too." I say looking at my watch. I tap it with my finger a few times for added effect.

"You know... you could just decide to stop your studies after fifth year. As long as you have good enough OWLs." George points out. He stretches his arms in the air and makes a face. His elbow is still sore after the quidditch match where he decided it would be a good idea to fight someone.

"Right because Molly would let you two drop out of Hogwarts after fifth year." I say.

Fred and George both shrug and say, "just a thought." At the same time which makes everyone else laugh really hard. In the time that I've knows George and Fred, I've noticed that while they talk to each other in half finished sentences, they only really end up saying the same thing at the same time if they are both extremely tired.

"The Chimaera is a blood thirsty beast with a lions head, goats body... and a... damn it!" Walter grumbles

"And a dragons tail. Come on love you got this." Lee says. He shuffles his parchment and finds the notes he took on the Chimaera in class. "See, looks like something that shouldn't exist. It lays eggs too which is even more freaky than its build."

"And its classified as X.X.X.X.X very lethal and extremely dangerous." Fred adds.

George grabs my textbook from me and flips through the pages, "And you can't trade its eggs right? Ministry orders?"

I nod a million times, "Yeah that sounds right... Uhm only one of them beens killed that we know of... god what was his name..."

"We don't know his name I don't think. All we know is that he died of exhaustion after he killed it." I say. I snatch my textbook back from George and kiss him on the cheek as a thanks. "And a true chimaera is just any two or more of anything merged together into one beast but its usually the lion, goat, and dragon. Sometimes it even has different heads. It can also breathe fire but apparently if it has three heads then only the goat head can breathe fire."

Everyone looks at me. I slowly move my eyes from my notes to everyone else, "In Greek mythology, the Chimaera is the daughter of two gods that I can't seem to remember the name of. And it was killed by the son of Poseidon. But only actually killed by one real person."

"You're like scary smart." Fred says.

George puts his arm around my shoulders, "Tell me again why you're even studying? I mean I think you have everything down to memory."

I shrug, "It's not that hard to remember... is it?" Everyone looks at me. Then Emma laughs, then everyone else laughs and soon we are being yelled at by Madam Pomfrey for the seventh time this week. The good thing is that she can't kick us out of the library because we are studying for our OWLs.

"We better start packing up, dinners soon." Walter says looking at the mess of notes and books and ink pots and things spread across the six desks we pushed together.

It takes us a long time for us to organize and pack up our notes and things and help Emma put the books that she took back on the shelves. George takes my hand in his and we walk hand in hand out of the library and down the corridor towards the staircase. "After dinner do you guys want to go out into the field and study? I need some fresh air."

"I can sneak some pumpkin juice and desserts from the kitchen if you want?" Fred says.

We all collectively nod, "Sounds like a plan. Gives us a chance to practice for our charms practical."

Cedric Diggory comes jogging up to us all, "Hey Violet!..."He looks at George who is suddenly very unimpressed. "Hey George, guys. Uhm everyone is heading out to the lake after dinner to get ready for our charms practical tomorrow instead of hiding out in our usual classroom. You're coming too right Violet?... Everybody?"

"Course! We'll see you out there!" Emma says.

Cedric looks at her and nods a few times. "Okay uhm cool." He looks back at me, "I'll see you all out there I guess."

"I hate that guy." George says when Cedric goes off with his friends.

Fred claps his brother on the shoulder, "Feeling a little jealous are you there Georgie?"

George shrugs his brother off, "Fuck off alright?"

I pull on George's arm a bit and he comes closer to me, "I love yooouu." I hum. George groans and I peck his lips then we all head in for dinner.

After dinner Fred and George head to the kitchen to grab iced pumpkin juice and desserts and the rest of us head out to the lake to meet up with the other fifth years. "I heard a rumor that your uncle is getting Hagrids hippogriff executed?" Amanda Ball from Ravenclaw says when we all get to the meeting spot.

"Don't know, don't care." I say back to her.

She scoffs and looks in my eyes, "Course you don't. You're just like your family. You don't see the problem with killing an innocent animal."

Walter, Emma, and Lee all sigh behind me knowing that whatever is going to happen next is not going to be very good. "And you don't see the problem with talking to me in that tone. Listen Ball. You mess with my family, you talk shit about my family. Then you have a problem with me. And I swear to god you do not want to have a problem with me."

Amanda laughs, "You're a lot of talk and no bite LeStrange."

"Oh god." Emma whispers behind me.

In a matter of seconds my wand is in my right hand aimed directly at Amanda, "Locomotor Mortis" I say, flicking my wrist quickly. Amanda's legs snap together and she falls over on her butt. I go over to her head and crouch down so I can talk to her, "Consider this a bite." I say to her.

"Violet was that really necessary?" Walter laughs.

I stand up and put my wand back in my pocket. I wipe my hands on my shirt and look at my friends. "What? I was just practicing for charms."

Amanda mumbles the counter curse under her breath and stands up. She juts her hand out towards me for a handshake and I do exactly that. "bygones?"

"Bygones." I say back to her.

When George and Fred come out with drinks and snacks we start to actually practice together. Me along with the other students that are at the top of the class walk around and help fix peoples stances and wrist movements and things.

"Be careful. You have to bring your wand from left to right, then down. Yeah like that, start saying the incantation as soon as you start moving you wand to the left and make sure you finish it as soon as your wand is in the final position. Lord knows Flitwick is going to make us put legs on teacups tomorrow." I say to Hufflepuff boy Liam.

"Hey love can you come here? I need help." George calls from a little ways away.

I skip over and stand in front of him, "What's up?"

"I need a little assistance with something and I think you can help." He smirks and looks at me.

"Oh yeah?"

"I'm having a bit of trouble. Now, do I kiss like this..." He pecks my lips very softly. "Or like this?" He deepens the kiss and puts his hands on the sides of my face holding me close to him.

When we pull away from each other George looks like he just won the house cup all over again. "I think... that if Flitwick grades the way you kiss we are going to have some serious problems."


	70. Part 3, Chapter 30

"Well, I think I failed. Two hour written exam and a two-hour practical test? You've got to be kidding me." Emma says as we leave the great hall after our first OWL.

"It feels like my brain is on fire." Fred groans. We stand outside of the hall together waiting for the professors to make it so we can eat lunch in there before our next exam. Fred stands behind Emma and wraps his arms around her neck and rests his chin on the top of her head. Her height makes it really easy to use her as a human pillow.

George pulls me into his chest and hugs me. We sway softly side to side. "Care of Magical Creatures has to be easier though right? I mean it's Hagrid's exam." George says looking at all our friends.

"The professors don't write the OWL exams, the ministry does. So as long as Hagrid taught us the right material then we should be okay." I say into George's chest.

Lee and Walter groan at the same time. "So we're fucked is what you're saying to me right now," Walter says.

"I'm saying. We studied hard and we understand the material. We'll move onto sixth year and in the classes we need to take. Trust me."

The great hall doors open again which means we can head back in for lunch. "The worst part of all this? We have to take our exams in the dining hall. It would far less scary if we could take them in our class rooms." Emma says. We all walk back into the hall and go to our house tables.

"What happens if we don't pass with the grades we need to pass?" Walter says when we are seated.

"That won't happen." I encourage him. Plates appear on the table and food begins to float down from the head of the table.

"Okay but what if it does? You're the only one that's really book smart in our group." Emma grabs the plate of sandwiches out from the air and puts a few on her plate. She passes the platter around to us and lets it fly out of her hands again.

"Aunt Narcissa always told us that the worst thing that could happen to us is that we would have to repeat a year. So I'm assuming that's what would happen if you didn't like the grade you got. And with our NEWT years coming up we have to score either O's or E's to move on."

Walter chokes, "There's no way in the world I'm repeating this year."

Lunch was very quiet, only the gentle clinking of dishes is heard throughout the entire hall. Its that time of year, doesn't matter what year you're in, you're stressed out of your mind. No matter how badly I want to leave school, live my life the way I want without the pressure of my family, I don't think I'll ever be ready to take my NEWTs.

After lunch everyone files out of the room and the fifth and seventh year students taking their Care of Magical Creatures exam bum around in the corridor till we can go back in. "Quick, what are the relatives of a Puffskein?" Lee asks to no one in particular.

"Appaloosa Puffskein, and the Fanged Puffskein. But the common Puffskein is the one that many witches and wizards have for pets." Emma says.

"And while there are other breeds of Puffskein, those were bred illegally by curious wizards and the ministry is really pissed off about it." I explain.

"Yeah make sure you include that part on your test papers, 'the ministry is really pissed off about it' you'll get full marks." George jokes.

The big doors open up behind us and Hagrid steps out into the corridor, "righ' then. Fifth years in the front of ter room, Sev'ns in ter ba'k. Yer name's are on te desk that I need yer to sit at. I'll rin' ta bell and yer turn ta tes' o'er and begin. Ya got four hou's to fin'sh yer tests." Hagrid says. His accent seems to get thicker when he's nervous.

I take a deep breath and look at my friends. "Good luck gentlemen." I say. Emma snorts and we head into the hall to find our assigned desks.

Once everyone is seated, Hagrid steps up to the main stage that the teachers usually sit at during meal times, "Don' forget. W'ite ter name on all ta par'ment sos ya can get ta right grades" He says before he pulls hard on the big rope that's attached to a great big bell at the ceiling. It rings once and the room fills with the sound of inkpots opening and parchment rustling as everyone starts their exam.

Hour 1: True or false questions about ten creatures we studied this year along with a brief explanation of your answer. Followed by multiple choice questions.

Hour 2: A two foot long composition about the creature of your choosing and how that creature made a serious impact on the wizarding world.

Hour 3: Another two foot long composition, this time on the ministry's process of classification. What each ran means starting from X to X.X.X.X.X. Give examples of each classification and the reasoning behind the ministry's decision.

Hour 4: Twelve short answer questions, choose six to answer. Half a foot for each response. Questions vary from illegal breeding tactics, to the first time a creature was spotted, to how creatures are transferred from one location to the other, to medical care for injured creatures in the wild.

Hagrid rings the bell again almost as soon as I finish dotting my last 'i' in my sentence. "Drop yer quills! What's on yer par'ment is what's bein' gra'ed. Good job all of yer. You've all been a ples're ta teach."

Quills are dropped on the desks, Hagrid (who's not really supposed to use magic) waves his hands around in the air and everyone's tests fly from their desks and land on the headmasters podium. Then everyone gets up and shuffles out of the great hall. As soon as I stand up my back and knees crack and I groan.

"Two compositions in one exam? That has to be illegal." Lee says when we are out of the great hall. One of the big rules of the big exams at Hogwarts is that you can't talk in the great hall before or after the exam.

"What did you all choose to write about for the first composition? I chose the Thestral. I think it was a bad idea." Walter says, he shoves his hands in the front pocket of his dress pants and rocks his feet.

"I wrote about the Chimaera. All I could hear was Violet talking about it when we were in the library so I just copied all that information down. Dunno if it made any sense though." Fred says. He stretches his arms into the air and yells, "BLOODY HELL!" causing a few looks from the other students waiting around for nothing in particular.

"So after dinner we go to the library to prepare for our next exams?" I say casually.

George puts his palm over my mouth, "Pretend she didn't say that. Let's just relax for like two hours."

I mumble "we have to study." Into George's hand but no one hears me. I lick his hand and George shrieks and pulls away from me. "We have to study. History of Magic and Transfiguration are tomorrow."

"The two hardest subjects on the same day. Who in the world decided that was a good idea." Emma moans.

"The hardest classes? We have potions Wednesday. That's going to be mad." Walter says. "What do we have to do for Snape's exam again?"

"Two hour written exam, and then we have two hours to brew a perfect Erumpent potion from memory." I explain, "Only thing we get is the measured out ingredients. If you fail it explodes... literally."

"Yeah still no idea how I'm going to pull that one off." Fred says. He rolls his neck from side to side and it cracks like eight times.

"Hows about we all go get changed and grab our books before dinner. That way we don't have to waste any studying time." I suggest. Everyone nods a few times in agreement and we part ways.

"I need a nap... or a drink... something." Emma says when we get into the common room.

Draco comes over to me and Emma and Walter leave us alone, "How did your exams go Dray?"

Draco shrugs, "They were okay I guess. I had Transfiguration and Charms. Which only reminded me how much I hate McGonagall and all her damn Gryffindors."

"Oi, watch your language." I say half jokingly. Draco rolls his eyes and looks at me. "But you think you did okay? Like you knew how to preform all the spells and things?"

Draco nods a couple times, "Yeah everything was good. I uhm. How did you know that you wanted to date Weasley?"

That was not the question I thought I would be answering. "Butterflies in my stomach, getting nervous around him. But a good kind of nervous. Making sure I looked good when I was around him..."

Draco shakes his head, "No not like him. Like how did you know that dating him was something that you wanted to do?"

I take Draco's hand and bring him over to the couch that's by the bookshelf in the left corner of the room, "I don't think I knew that I wanted to do it. It just felt like that was the next step in our relationship. Why are you asking this? Is there someone you fancy?"

Draco rubs his face with his hands, "I think Pansy fancies me? But I don't fancy her. But I know that everyone assumes that we are going to start dating so I mean. Shouldn't I?"

I laugh and look up at the ceiling. "Draco, you can't... if you don't fancy someone than you don't fancy them. There's nothing you can do about it. You can't force it. Just like if you do fancy someone you can't force yourself to stop. Its complicated and tricky and it sucks half the time but you don't date someone because you think that's what everyone is expecting you to."

"Okay yeah... I think I fancy someone though. Just not her. And it's freaking me out because there's not a chance that anyone will understand or like it. Especially not mother and father."

I put my hand on his knee, "That's what I thought when I first started dating George. Yeah I lost friends, but the friends that stayed... we're closer than ever and I know that they will be by my side for the rest of my life. And honestly? You're thirteen, in school for nearly the whole year. Far away from Aunt Narcissa and Uncle Lucius. They can't tell you what to do when you're here."

Draco looks at me, "Did you seriously just tell me to live in the moment only fancier? Is that seriously what you're trying to tell me right now?" We look at each other in silence before we both start laughing really loud.

"I gotta go get changed and grab my things. And it might sound like crappy advice but it works." I stand up from the couch and look down at Draco, "Who is it anyways? If you don't mind me asking."

Draco shakes his head, "Nope, not having this conversation with you anymore. I probably won't see you later given I have to study. Good luck or whatever."

I ruffle the hair on the top of Draco's head much to his annoyance and go into my dorm room. "What took you so long?" Emma says. She pulls out her Charms and Care of Magical Creatures materials out of her book bag and swap them for the stuff she needs to study from tonight.

"Draco." I pull off my school robes and undo the tie around my neck and throw it into my trunk. "He asked about how I knew that dating George was what I wanted or something." I swap my Slytherin coloured plaid skirt for a pair of sweatpants and my sweater vest and white undershirt for one of Molly's sweaters.

"Is he thinking of dating someone...?" Emma throws her book bag over her shoulder and looks at me.

"He feels pressured to date Pansy. But he doesn't fancy her so he doesn't know if he should date her or not." I toss my books out onto my bed and gather up my notes and things I need to study from tonight. "He does fancy someone though, and he's worried that his mother and father won't approve."

Emma clicks her tongue, "Look at that. The next generation of Malfoys are going to break all of their families rules."

I roll my eyes and smile at her, "Rules are meant to be broken."

"You've been spending too much time with the Weasleys."


	71. Part 3, Chapter 31

In a week our exams were over, leaving us to roam the castle and do whatever we wanted till it was time to head back to our homes for the summer. Which meant a lot of bumming around by the lake and playing childish games like tag and hide and go seek.

"You know what I just remembered?" Emma says. Emma and I are sitting by the edge of the lake. Fred, George, and Lee are wading in the water, their pant legs pulled up to their knees as they compete for who can skip a rock the farthest. Walter has found a new obsession with drawing so he's sitting near very close to the waters edge sketching the boys as they fool around.

I roll my head to the side and look at Emma. She's wearing a very pale green flowy dress. Her hands fiddle with the flowers in her lap as she braids them into a crown. "What?" I ask.

"Sirius Black. Ever since he broke into the Gryffindor common room no one has spoken about him. She holds her half finished flower crown in front of her and sighs.

I look back at the boys, "Yeah... The Dementors are still around school so I assume he hasn't been found. It's sort of weird that we haven't heard anything about him." The sleeve of my unbuttoned bouse falls off my shoulder, exposing my black tank top that's underneath. You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to keep the very posh and put together look in the middle of a blistering summer.

"Vi? Isn't that your uncle? And the... Minister?" Walter calls. Everyone stops what they are doing and turns around to look at what Wally is talking about.

Sure enough, the Minister, an executioner, and my Uncle Lucius are marching down the path that runs from the castle to Hagrid's hut. "I'll be right back." I say. I scramble up to my feet and put my shoes back on before sprinting across the field towards my uncle.

Uncle Lucius looks in my direction and slows his pace so I can catch up. "Uncle! What are you... what are you doing here?" I say very out of breath.

My uncle looks at me then at the Minister, "Minister, this is my niece, Violet LeStrange. She just completed her OWLs, no doubt top of her class. Violet, this is Minister Cornelius Fudge."

I bow my head, "A pleasure sir."

The Minister laughs, "You raised her well Lucius. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well Miss LeStrange."

I smile very politely, "May I ask Minister, why you're at Hogwarts?" My uncle shoots me a look that tells me to mind my own business and I take a few steps back.

"Just some very important ministry work is all young lass, nothing to worry your little head about. Go back and enjoy the summer sun with your friends. By the sound of things, you've earned it." The Minister winks at me and smiles.

I smile back and bow my head again, "Course sir, thank you. Have a splendid day. I'll see you in a week Uncle Lucius." My uncle nods curtly.

"Best be off then Minister. I'll see you soon Violet." They start to walk again, I step out of their way and let them pass. Once they are far enough away I race back to my friends.

"What was that about?" George says walking out of the lake.

I shrug my shoulders, "Dunno. No one told me anything. My uncle just introduced me to the Minister, then the Minister called me smart and told me to enjoy the sun with my friends and they were off."

Emma turns her attention back to her flower crown, "Weird." She says.

I take the Ministers advice though and go right back to enjoying the sun with my friends. George gets tired of skipping rocks and comes over to sit with me in the grass. He rips up a handful of grass and throws it at me.

"What was that for?" I laugh brushing off the grass.

George shrugs, "Just kind of felt like it I suppose." He then launches himself forward towards me which knocks me on my back. George puts his hands on opposite sides of my head so he doesn't totally crush me.

"And what is this for?" I say smiling, knowing full well what response I'm going to get out of him.

"Just kind of felt like it I suppose." He bends his elbows so his nose is now brushing against mine. He kisses the tip of my nose and looks into my eyes before he kisses me on the lips.

"Are you kidding me you two? You're not even alone!" Fred wails.

George rolls off of me and lands on his back beside me. I sit up and look down at him before looking over at Fred who is very annoyed with the whole situation. "You should invite Angelina to come hang out with us tomorrow." I suggest wiggling my eyebrows.

Fred tosses a rock at me and I catch it before it hits me in the head. "She won't want to. Her and Oliver are saying their goodbyes." You can hear in his voice that it hurts him to think about. Everyone stops what they are doing and looks at him with sad eyes. George sits up and him and Fred share a look. "Doesn't matter though. Woods a fantastic..." Fred throws a rock into the lake very aggressively, "perfect..." He throws another rock, "older..." throws a rock, "rich..." splash, "captain of the quidditch team..." splash, "who wouldn't want to date him..." He yells out in anger or sadness, or something and throws the rest of the rocks in his hand out into the lake.

Everyone is silent, we are all watching Fred carefully. Emma stands up, pads over to Fred in her bare feet, walks into the lake getting her dress very wet, and carefully places the flower crown she's made on the top of his head. "You need it more than me." She says softly.

Fred and her stand very close together for a while, no one saying anything or moving in case we do something wrong. Then Fred takes the back of Emma's neck, brings her closer to him, and kisses her on the lips, with passion.

"Bloody hell." George whispers. I sit there, my mouth wide open in shock, watching my two friends essentially try to suck each others faces off.

They pull away from each other almost as quickly as they started kissing and stare at each other. Then they start laughing, really hard. I look over at Walter who looks at me with what I can assume is the same confused look my face has on right now. Then we start laughing. George takes my hand and drags me up so I'm standing then pulls me into the lake where Lee, Emma, and Fred are all standing. George splashes Fred with water which leads to Fred splashing him back... Which leads to a full fledged water war because what else is there to do.

I get out of the water before anyone could get me totally wet and I grab my camera off of the blanket that I was sitting on. I snap a few pictures of my friends playing in the water, and a few of Walter sitting on the grass watching it all. I go over to Walter and sit with him. "Why aren't you participating? It looks exactly like something you would love to do." Walter says nudging me with his shoulder.

"I figured I should be taking more pictures of us all together, given it won't last forever. Two more years till I'm a death eater and all." I hold my camera to my chest and watch as Emma and Lee push Fred into the water so he's completely submerged.

Walter just snorts and I lean my head on his shoulder. We watch our friends throw themselves into the water, laughing with not a care in the world. George notices that I'm no longer beside him and he looks around for me till he sees me with Walter in the grass. He smiles when he sees me and starts to come towards me. "Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck." I say to Walter. I hand Walter my camera and he laughs at me.

I get up from where I'm sitting and start running in the opposite direction of George laughing the entire time. I can tell George is behind me because he's laughing just as hard as I am. Unfortunately for me, he's a lot faster than I am. He grabs a hold to my waist and spins me around to face him. In one swift motion he picks me up and tosses me over his shoulder and walks back to the lake in triumph.

"Don't you DARE throw me in that lake George Weasley! I swear to god!" I screech but George just keeps laughing . He walks right into the lake, Fred, Emma, and Lee are laughing at me.

"I love you!" George yells before he throws me off his shoulder and into the cold water.

I stand up in the water and stare at George, "George Weasley, you're lucky I love you." I yell before kicking water up at him.

"Love you too weirdo."


	72. Part 3, Chapter 32

The next day rumours were flying throughout the entire school about everything. Apparently Ron, Hermione, and Harry managed to find Sirius Black and set him free. And it turns out that Sirius was friends with Professor Lupin who according to Professor Snape is actually a werewolf.

"Why is it always those three whenever something bad happens around here?" Emma says on our way to the final dinner of the year.

"Harry is the chosen one. It makes sense that trouble follows him wherever he goes doesn't it?" Walter says. We walk into the very noisy, very happy great hall.

As soon as we step in the door a smile spreads across my face. We find a spot at the Slytherin table that we can all fit on. Dumbledore stands and moves to the podium and the room falls quiet. "Well, well, well! Look at all of us here, happy, sunburnt, excited for the summer months!" Dumbledore says proudly. The room erupts into cheers. "This year has been difficult for many! And I thank each and every one of you for making it run as smoothly as it could have gone!"

Another round of applause comes from the students. "With no help from you!" Shouts a Slytherin further down the table.

"And now! For the house cup! In fourth place is Hufflepuff, with 348 points!" Polite applause, "In third place, Ravenclaw, with 502 points!" another polite wave of applause.

"I swear to god if we don't win this year..." Walter grumbles.

Dumbledore raises his hand for silence. "In second place..." We grab each others hands in anticipation. "Gryffindor, with 522 points!" The Slytherin table erupts into cheers so loud the whole room shakes.

"We fucking did it!" Emma screams.

Dumbledore raises his hand again and the Slytherins slowly stop making noise. "Which leaves Slytherin in first with 570 points!" Dumbledore doesn't let us get loud again, "However!" he shouts.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Walter says, his smile dropping a little.

"I hate this ratty old bastard." I grumble.

Dumbledore looks at the Gryffindor table and winks causing an uproar in the Slytherins. "Because of their wonderful win of the Quidditch cup, I am awarding Gryffindor house with fifty points." Cue the annoying sound of the Gryffindor table cheering like their life depends on it. My eyes roll so far back in my head that I think they might get stuck there. "Meaning! Gryffindor is now in first place with a total of 572 points!"

"I hate this school and everyone in it." Emma yells which I can barley hear over the roar of the Gryffindor students.

"A fantastic year for the Gryffindor students! Congratulations to you all! Now, let the feast begin!" Dumbledore claps his hands together and heaps of food appears on the tables.

"Fuck that guy." Walter says loading his plate with food.

"Honestly." Emma says in agreement.

Besides the complete and total favouritism from Dumbledore the night was pretty fantastic. When the tables were cleared off and dessert was being passed around Snape sends out our final grades for our classes. When my envelope falls in front of me I look at my friends with fear in my eyes. "What if I didn't..."

Emma's envelope comes soaring through the air and lands in front of her, "You passed, don't worry your pretty little head about that."

When Walter gets his envelope we all look at each other before tearing into it. I skim the piece of parchment quickly... all O's.

"Violet look! You're top of the class!" Emma shrieks. She points at the top of the parchment where it has 'top of the class' written on it. On the line beside it my name is carefully printed beside it.

"Way to go Violet!" Walter reaches over and pats my back with his hand.

Relief floods through my body and I instantly lose all the tension that's built up in my shoulders this year. "What did you all get?"

Emma got eight O's and four E's and shes very proud. Walters got ten O's and two E's and he's over the moon excited. When we are all dismissed from dinner I wait for George by the staircase while Emma and Walter head off to start packing up their things.

"Did you pass?" I ask when George comes up to me.

George waves the parchment with the grades on it in the air, "Seven O's three E's and two A's baby!" He cheers. He comes over to me and hugs me close.

"That's great Georgie, I'm proud of you." I peck his lips and smile really big.

"That's great? Says the top of the class!" George picks me up and spins me around a few times laughing. "Told you that you could do it!"

He puts me back down and kisses me hard. "I can't believe I got perfect OWLs. I mean who even does that."

"Percy did." George says casually.

I laugh, "Gross."

We kiss again and then part ways, each of us having loads of packing to do before tomorrow morning. On the way back to my common room I run into Draco and his friends. "How'd you do?" I ask my little cousin.

"Nearly perfect. How about you?" Draco asks, he hands me his parchment and I hand him mine. "Bloody hell Violet, all twelve OWLs?"

His friends all look at me star struck and I smile really big, "Yessir! These are great Dray, your mother and father are going to be really proud of you."

Draco rolls his eyes, "Yeah till they see your grades." He hands my parchment back to me and I give him his back. "Now they're going to expect me to get twelve OWLs my year too."

"I'll keep my notes for you don't worry." I ruffle his hair and he moves his head out of my reach. His friends all laugh at him. "I'll see you tomorrow on the train. Don't be late." I dash off to the common room entrance and follow after a few other students.

"Vi thank god you're here. Have you seen my favourite pair of shoes? The brown ones with the gold buckle on the side?" Emma says as soon as I step into the dorm.

"Congratulations on top of the class Violet." Henrietta says from her side of the room.

It was the first thing she said to me in years, "Thanks! How did you do?"

"Honestly? I nearly failed this year so my parents are pulling me out. They don't think its worth it for me to take my NEWT years."

Emma stops searching for her shoes and looks over at her. "I'm sorry... We're going to miss you next year."

Henrietta nods slowly, "Thanks guys... I'll see you all when you get your dark mark I guess..." She goes back to packing and doesn't look at us again.

Emma shakes her shoulders a bit, like she's trying to shake that conversation off of her, "Violet, my shoes. Help me look."


	73. Part 3, Chapter 33

The train ride back home was long and tiring but we fill the time with exploding snap, jokes, and heaps of photos that I take of them all.

"I can't believe we are going into sixth year. I feel so grown up all of a sudden." Emma says. She's sitting beside Fred but not touching him. Nothing happened after they kissed in the lake that day. When I asked her about it that night Emma said it was a spur of the moment, didn't mean a thing kind of kiss. Which is understandable given the fact that Fred was definitely not in the right mental space that day.

"I'm fucking terrified of getting older. Let's just stay this age forever." I say. I lean my head on George's shoulder and he puts his arm around me.

"The quidditch world cup is this summer! We should all go together!" Walter says. He and Lee are curled up in the corner of the booth happy.

Fred and George look at each other, "Dad can usually get tickets through work but it's not a definite thing. I can write to you all if it happens though, we can meet up after the match or something." Fred says.

"We should also plan a day to go to Diagon Alley together to get all of our things for next year. Two months is so long without seeing you all." Lee says. Walter kisses the top of his head.

"Well I'm going to Italy this summer, But I'm sure father will drag me away to go to the world cup. But I might end up doing my school shopping there." Emma says matter of factly. She then goes on to give us her entire itinerary that her parents have already planned out for her.

When the train pulls into the station I kiss George goodbye with the promise to try and write to him this summer and hug all my friends goodbye. I grab my trunk out of the luggage compartment and head down to the platform. Now that my cat Fergus is fully grown I don't keep him in a carrier anymore, instead he follows me around carefully so he doesn't get lost or stepped on.

I spot Draco's bright blond hair a ways down the platform and push past the crowds of happy families to get to him. He's standing beside a ministry driver that has a sign that reads "Draco Malfoy, Violet LeStrange."

"Looks like mother and father missed us." Draco says under his breath. The driver loads both of our trunks onto a trolly he has and leads us of platform 9 ¾. I pick Fergus up off the ground and carry him in my arms all the way to the car. The driver opens the door for us and closes it once we are settled in. I can hear him trying to get our trunks shoved in the back of the car before hopping into the drivers seat and speeding off.

"Hey... don't be upset. I'm sure Aunt Narcissa and Uncle Lucius are waiting for us patiently at home. You know how Uncle gets when he tries to drive a muggle car." I say to Draco trying to cheer him up.

"I'm not upset. I'm just tired." He snaps back at me. He turns to look out the window and stays like that for the entire ride home.

The driver stops at the gate to the Malfoy manor and opens mine and Draco's doors before getting our trunks out from the trunk. I place a galleon in the drivers hand as a tip and push the gates open.

"Norby is so glad to see Master LeStrange and Master Malfoy!" Our house elf squeals as he comes running down the cobblestone path.

"Grab my things Norby, and don't damage anything." Draco says angrily.

Norby nods a bunch of times and grabs a hold of both mine and Draco's trunks. "Oh Norby, you don't have to do that. I can carry my own things." I say to him. I put my hand on my trunk and Norby squeals.

"No, no Master LeStrange. Norby is happy that you are so caring but Norby must do this himself. Master Malfoy insisted."

I shrug, knowing that it's no real use arguing with a house elf who has orders and I run a bit to catch up with Draco. I take his hand in mine but he pulls away quickly.

We open the front door together and stand in the front foyer just looking at the massive house we call home. Aunt Narcissa pokes her head out of the formal living room and smiles really big. "Oh how I've missed you both!" She says. She comes running out of the living room and pulls us both into a big hug. "Draco, I'll meet you in your room in a moment, I'll help you unpack your things and you can tell me all about your year. Violet dear your uncle and I have to speak to you in his office upstairs."

Draco looks at me, a flash of worry followed by a tinge of jealousy flashes through his eyes. He excuses himself from his mother and stomps up the staircase on the left. Aunt Narcissa takes my hand gently and I follow her up the staircase on the right. "Professor Snape wrote to us and told us you are top of your class! And you got twelve perfect OWLs! We are so proud of you darling!" She coos.

"Thank you auntie. Draco did wonderful this year too! You should see his grade parchment."

Aunt Narcissa knocks on the door to Uncle Lucius' office. The only room that I've never once been inside before. It's dark, only a few candles are lit around the room. The curtains are drawn tightly. Books are stacked neatly on bookshelves, an old riding broom is mounted on the wall behind his desk that sits in the middle of the room.

"Come sit Violet. We have much to discuss." Uncle Lucius gestures to one of the chairs in front of his desk. Aunt Narcissa closes the door behind her and comes to sit on the chair beside mine.

"Did I... Did I do something wrong?" I ask. Aunt Narcissa puts her hand on my knee and squeezes softly shaking her head no.

"It's time Violet. You must step up and take on the families responsibilities this year, this summer in fact. Things are changing and its time that you learn what exactly being apart of this family means." Uncle Lucius says coldly.

"No, No you said I had till the end of my time at Hogwarts before I had to do anything." I look from Uncle Lucius to Aunt Narcissa, "You- you promised me!"

Aunt Narcissa looks like she's about to cry which only brings me more panic. "Plans change darling." she whispers.

"Enough of this nonsense. Violet LeStrange. We took you in after your mother and father risked their lives for the Dark Lord. We raised you the way they would have wanted you raised. So much money spent on tutors and flying lessons and teaching you proper etiquette. Now it's time for you to repay the favour."

My eyes sting from trying to hold back my tears. "Favour? I was just a child when you took me in! I needed you! I needed my family! That is not a debt I need to repay!" I cry out.

Uncle Lucius slams his fist on his desk to silence me. "You've known your entire life that one day you would have to grow up and truly become a part of this family. Your mother was the Dark Lord's most powerful and loyal supporter and she would have wanted you to become the same. Not doing so will result in the loss of this family. You will lose everything. Your money, your friends, your last name. You will lose this house!" He leans forward and whispers the next bit, "You will lose us. You will lose Draco. Is that what you want?"

A single tear drips from my eye and I quickly wipe it away, "No sir." I whisper.

Uncle Lucius leans back in his chair and he smiles, it looks strange on his face. "Good. Now the first thing I need you to do is simple." He pulls out a piece of parchment, an ink pot, and a quill from his desk drawer and pushes it towards me. "Break up with your Weasley. End it all. You will not speak to him again."

I look at the parchment in front of me and start sobbing silently. Aunt Narcissa reaches out and brushes my tears away. With a shaky hand I pick up the quill and dip it in the ink.

My Dearest George...


	74. Part 4, Chapter 1

It's August now, August the twenty-fourth. And it's been the worst summer of my life. Uncle Lucius has taught me everything there is to know about Death Eaters and the Dark Lord. How the Dark Lord has plans to return this year, how he needs me, needs my family, to support him in doing that.

After I wrote the letter to George I ran up to my room and cried for days. Draco came and lied beside me in bed as I cried. Not fully knowing or understanding what happened, what's about to happen, but supporting me either way. That's the thing, I can't tell him any of this. Aunt Narcissa made me promise that I wouldn't. He's too young, only going into fourth year.

George and I have been communicating though, with that stupid quill that he made for me. He told me that he never got a letter from my uncle which pisses me off. I asked Aunt Narcissa about it and she told me that it was a test to prove my loyalty to the family or some crazy messed up thing that my Uncle did to me.

I've been talking to Emma all summer, her parents cancelled her Italy trip and she had the same conversation with her parents that I've had with my aunt and uncle so at least I know that I'm not alone in this.

Someone knocks on my door and I close the book I'm reading. "Come in."

The door handle twists and Draco comes in the room slowly. "You ready for tomorrow? I can't believe father got us seats in the ministry box!" He comes and sits down on my bed cross legged.

See the thing is, Draco only knows about the game. What he doesn't know is that right after the game, the Death Eaters have planned an attack on the muggles and the wizarding folk that will be camping out around the stadium. Even though I can't participate in the raid, because I'm underage and everything, Uncle Lucius still wants me there to see exactly what it is that he expects from me in the future.

"Bet you three sickles that Ireland is going to win. Bulgaria doesn't stand a chance." I say finally. Draco looks at me excitedly.

"Bulgaria's got Viktor Krum. Ireland doesn't stand a chance!" He says excitedly. "Three sickles. You sure you're ready to lose all your money?" Draco sticks out his hand.

I take his hand a shake it a few times, "You're on."

Just then Aunt Narcissa comes into my room and smiles at the sight of Draco and I getting along. "Your Hogwarts letters have come in the mail. I'll be sending Norby to the shops tomorrow to get all your things while we are at the world cup."

She walks over to my closet and pulls open the doors, my cat Fergus comes racing out and jumping onto my bed, "Auntie? I was wondering if it was possible for me to get an owl this year? I mean I did get top of my class and with everything that has happened recently..."

Aunt Narcissa pulls out my school robes from last year and drapes them over her arm, "Oh yes, I think we can make that happen. You're an adult now and it makes sense for a young, responsible witch to have her own owl for her personal use." She comes over to my bed and pinches my cheek a little, "What kind would you like darling?"

"A great horned one if it's not too expensive. They're fantastic looking creatures."

Aunt Narcissa hums and taps my face with her hand a few times, "Nothings too expensive dear. I'll make note of it and there will be one waiting for you once we've returned." She looks at Draco and smiles softly, "Any special requests for you?"

"A Firebolt! Please oh please! It's the only way that I will be able to compete with Potter during quidditch this year!" Draco says looking at his mother with as much love that he can muster.

"There won't be any quidditch this year I don't think. Along with your letters, we've got notice that the Triwizard tournament will be happening this year at Hogwarts."

I look at my Aunt with my brows furrowed, "The Triwizard tournament?"

Aunt Narcissa sits on my bed and Draco and I make room for her, "Oh it's a fantastic tournament. Three wizarding schools come together and compete for the Triwizard cup. This year it's being hosted at Hogwarts! One student from each school will be chosen to compete. They will take part in three different tasks throughout the year, each more dangerous than the last. Who ever is still standing, or still alive for that matter wins the cup and what I can only assume is a large sum of money."

Draco looks like he did when we were younger and it was Christmas, "Oh I want to compete! Please mother tell me I can compete!"

Aunt Narcissa pats her sons leg, "When the tournament first started, anyone could participate. But it was shut down because so many young witches and wizards died a very violent death. It's the first year the ministry is letting it happen again. I'm not sure if they will set an age restriction."

"So two other schools will be at Hogwarts? Sitting in on our classes and such?" I ask my Aunt.

She nods a few times, "Yes! The Beauxbatons from France and Durmstrang from the far north."

"Wait, Durmstrang? Viktor Krum goes there! Do you think that he could be in our school this year? Sitting at our desks?" Draco asks very excitedly.

Aunt Narcissa and I both laugh, "You might want to invest in an autograph book Dray." I joke. Draco sticks his tongue out at me and Auntie laughs again.

"Oh! I nearly forgot! The Triwizard tournament comes with a fantastic Christmas party! Violet you'll need a very fancy dress and Draco, you'll need brand new dressing robes." Aunt Narcissa stands from the bed very suddenly. "Which means, you two are coming shopping with me today. Right now in fact, grab your things." She takes my school robes with her. I assume that she will be taking them to the shops with her tomorrow to make sure that my new robes have the same measurements.

"Ha! You have to wear a dress! A fancy dress!" Draco says laughing at me. I swat him with my book and he dashes out of the door, "Come on!"


	75. Part 4, Chapter 2

Draco, Aunt Narcissa, and I use the Floo Network to get to Diagon alley much to Aunt Narcissa's disgust.

"Floo network. Travelling by fireplaces? Who even came up with such a thing." She complains as she brushes off the stray ash from her dress. She links her arm with Draco and I follow behind them closely, "We will do Draco's robes first, that shouldn't take very long. All boys get to chose from is three shades of black. Lucky for Violet though, she get's to choose whatever colour she seems fit!" Aunt Narcissa says cheerily, "I'm thinking a deep green colour, or maybe silver! Oh, that would look stunning with your hair wouldn't it?"

"A dark green would be wonderful. Silver might make me look paler than I am." I say to her.

Aunt Narcissa brings us to a very posh looking robe store and she pushes open the door. "Ah! Madam Malfoy! What a pleasure it is to see you!" The store clerk says. He's a very short, rather plump wizard with perfectly groomed grey hair and a monocle in his left eye.

"Hello, Mister Zhao. How are you?" Aunt Narcissa says politely.

The clerk, Mister Zhao nods a few times and responds to her question, "What do we have here? Is that Draco! Oh, I haven't seen you in years! Why you must be attending Hogwarts by now correct?"

"Course I am what sort of question is that?" Draco snaps. Mister Zhao looks very uncomfortable.

"Draco! Mind your manners, Mister Zhao is a close family friend. We attended Hogwarts together." Aunt Narcissa snaps. "Hogwarts is hosting the Triwizard tournament this year so we need to find Draco some new dress robes."

Mister Zhao guides Aunt Narcissa and I to some couches that are situated in front of a fitting pedestal and he gets to work. What should have only taken an hour takes three because Draco very peculiar about his clothes and making sure they have to fit just perfectly. By the end of it, he has a sleek black and white robe set that according to Aunt Narcissa is perfect for the occasion.

Once she pays and says goodbye to Mister Zhao she leads us down the alley a bit more into a dress shop that I've never been in before.

"Madam Malfoy! What an honor to have you in our store! How can I assist you today?" The witch says from behind the counter. Aunt Narcissa explains the Triwizard tournament and everything to the witch. The witch then takes my hand and leads me away from my aunt and cousin and towards a big rack of dresses.

"What colour? What shape? What fit are you going for darling?" The witch says to me when we are away from my aunt.

"Floor length, ball gown. Uhm my aunt and I were discussing a dark green colour? But I really like the idea of a really pretty black dress. As long as I can still dance around in it though."

The witch nods and tosses herself into the big rack of dresses and comes back out with a green dress with gold detailing. She helps me put it on and I step out of the changing room and onto a pedestal in front of my aunt and Draco.

I spin around a few times and look at them both. "You look like one of those Fabergé eggs that great aunt Druella collects." Draco says. He takes a sip of his tea and looks at me with a crooked smile on his face.

Aunt Narcissa hits Draco's arm but she's smiling as well, "Let's try something else please. I saw a wonderful dress. It's black with a light and airy bottom, form fitting top... has sheer sleeves..." She says to the witch helping us.

"I totally forgot about that one! Come, come!" The witch helps me off the pedestal and drags me back into the changing rooms.

She helps me into a stunning black dress and I step back out onto the pedestal. I turn around to look in the mirrors and smile. It's the first time in months that I feel beautiful. Ever since I broke up with George in that letter I've felt disgusting. And yes technically we aren't broken up because we have spoken about it and I told him why I had to write the letter but before I met George I hated the way I looked. He made me feel special, he helped me see my worth.

"You look absolutely beautiful Violet." Aunt Narcissa says. She gets up from her seat and comes to stand beside me. "You look just like your mother when she was your age." She wipes a tear from her eye and smiles at me through the mirror.

"Do you miss her? My mother?" I ask her.

Aunt Narcissa turns to look at me and she puts both her hands on my shoulders. "I miss her every single day. Bellatrix and Andromeda were my best friends growing up. That bond... It's what I want you and Draco to have."

I smile and pull her in for a hug, "I love you Auntie." I say to her.

Draco groans, "Are we done here? Can we go back home?" Aunt Narcissa and I stop hugging and look at each other and laugh.

"Go get changed Violet, I'll pay for the dress." Aunt Narcissa says.

It's late when we get home, Draco and I take our new outfits up to our room and get ready for bed. I pull out my ink and quill and write a message to George.

HEY LOVE. JUST BOUGHT A DRESS FOR THE YULE BALL. CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO SEE ME IN IT.

I lie in my bed and stare at my arm. The ink fades away and... nothing. I try not to get worried, he might be out, he might be looking for his quill.

SOUNDS GREAT VI. CAN'T TALK RIGHT NOW GETTING READY FOR TOMORROW.

My heart sinks. I know full well that he is getting ready for tomorrow, him and his family are taking a port key to the camping ground tomorrow but something feels off. It might just be me though, my nerves playing games with my head.

The next morning my aunt wakes me up early so Draco, Uncle Lucius and I can get to the game on time. I put on a long black pencil skirt and a grey button down blouse. "Where's my damned shoes?" I mutter to myself as I tuck my shirt into my skirt.

Draco comes bursting into my room, "Violet! Are you ready to go? Father is waiting for us downstairs." He's wearing a black suit, looking very grown up.

"Uh yeah, I just need to find a pair of shoes that go with this outfit." I go over to my closet and pull the doors open. "you look very grown up by the way."

I look over my shoulder and Draco fixes his collar, "You think?"

I pull out a pair of black kitten heels and put them on. "You trying to impress someone or something? You have the hots for the Minister?"

"Says you! Look at how tight that skirt is, you sure you're not trying to impress anyone?" Draco says looking at me.

I roll my eyes, "Keep a secret?" I say to him. Draco nods slowly. "The Weasleys are sitting in the Minister's box too. And I haven't seen George in a while."

Draco's jaw falls open, "You're seriously going to try and talk to George Weasley after what father made you do this summer? Does he even want to talk to you after that letter? How do you even know that he has tickets for the game?"

I grab my purse from the hook on my wall and put it over my shoulder. "It was all a scare tactic. I spoke to George and he said that he never got a letter. Which means that Uncle Lucius was just seeing where my loyalties lie."

I pull open my bedroom door and Draco and I step out into the long hallway and make our way to the main staircases. "So... you and George haven't broken up? I'm so confused."

"Aunt Narcissa fully told me that Uncle was just trying to see what I would chose if I had to."

Draco and I start down the stairs, "That's so messed up..?" He says, his eyes wide.

I nod my head a bunch, "I know! Auntie told me that I still have till the end of my schooling till I have to become a Death Eater so at least I have that going for me I suppose."

"Hurry up now you two we are already going to be late!" Uncle Lucius calls from the front door. Draco and I rush down the last few steps and head out of the house along with Aunt Narcissa and Uncle Lucius.

"Let's hope it doesn't last as long as the last one. Five days of quidditch? I would cry."


	76. Part 4, Chapter 3

After a twenty-minute walk through the forest we reach the massive stadium that the ministry set up. Auntie and Uncle start talking to a few other wizards before ushering us into the stadium. We climb all the way up to the top and enter the ministry box. The Weasleys are already there talking and laughing like the big happy family that they are.

Uncle Lucius walks in first, followed by Aunt Narcissa, Draco, and finally me. I run my hand along the back of George's shoulders and tug on his hair a bit. He let it grow out this year and it looks absolutely incredible. He turns around and looks at me with a big smile on his face and I wink at him very slowly before turning my attention back to my uncle and aunt.

"ah, Mister Fudge! How lovely it is to see you again." Uncle Lucius says with a big fake smile on his face. "You've met my wife Narcissa and my niece, Violet. This is my son Draco."

The Minister turns to look at us. "How do you do! How do you do! Thank you so much for coming Lucius. Let's see here. This is Mister Oblansk- Obalonsk- Mister, well he's the Bulgarian Minister for magic and he can't understand a word I'm saying so never mind..." The minister introduces Aunt Narcissa and Uncle Lucius to everyone in the box but my eyes are on George. He watches me with a sort of passion that I haven't seen in a while.

"Good Lord Arthur." I hear Uncle Lucius say softly. I snap my attention back to my uncle knowing that whatever is about to happen can't be good. "What did you have to sell to get seats in the Top Box? Surely your house wouldn't have fetched this much."

I flinch at my uncles comment. Draco smiles wide and aunt Narcissa doesn't do a single thing. We sit down in our seats, thankfully mine is right behind George.

I lean forward in my seat, careful to not draw attention to myself, "I've missed you baby." I say into George's ear.

I lean back into my chair and watch as George's posture stiffen up. Ludo Bagman comes rushing into the box excitedly. "Everyone ready? Minister- ready to go?"

The Minister looks at him happily, "Ready when you are!"

Ludo takes out his wand and jams it under his chin, "Sonorus!" He shouts. His voice is now amplified throughout the entire stadium, "Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty second Quidditch world cup!" The crowd screams and claps. It's one of the loudest sounds I've ever heard, a hundred thousand witches and wizards screaming for their favourite team.

The big sign across the stadium changes from promoting Bertie Botts every flavour beans to show the score of the game. "And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce... the Bulgarian team mascots!"

"I wonder who they've brought?" I head Arthur Weasley say to his sons.

Aunt Narcissa claps her hand over Draco's eyes, "Veela!" She says loudly. A hundred Veela dancers run onto the pitch and start dancing, slow at first, then faster and faster. All the men in the stadium cheer loudly even Uncle Lucius much to Aunt Narcissa's annoyance.

Harry, Ron, and the rest of the Weasley boys are up on their feet clapping like their life depends on it. Harry even throws one of his legs over the barrier like he's going to jump off. The Veela stop dancing and all the men scream out in anger no one wanting the show to end. Aunt Narcissa takes her hand away from Draco's eyes and he gets mad that he missed what everyone was going on about.

I stand from my seat and step a little closer to George, "I saw that." I whisper. I try to say it in my most annoyed voice but I really don't care how he reacts when there are Veela running around I look over at my Aunt and Uncle who are now watching the Leprechauns that the Irish team have brought, "Auntie? I'm going to run to the bathroom before the game actually starts okay?"

Aunt Narcissa smiles at me and hands me a ticket so the security gnomes will let me back into the box. I squeeze past the other cheering wizards in my row of seats and head out of the box and down the stairs. It's not long before I hear heavy footsteps chasing me down the stairs. "The bathroom huh?" George says to me.

I turn around on the stairs and move out of the way of a passing witch and her young son. "Yeah the bathroom. You want to come with me?"

George hops down the few stairs that are between us. "Is that even a question?" He says when he gets closer to me. I turn around and race down the rest of the steps laughing, George follows right behind me. When we get to the ground George takes my hand in his and pulls me into the forest along the path to the hundreds of small bathrooms that they've set up.

"You know when I said the bathroom I didn't really expect for you to take me to the bathrooms." I laugh.

George knocks on one of the bathroom doors and when he doesn't get a response he opens it and steps inside. I look around to make sure no one is looking at us and I step inside with him. "I've fucking missed you." He mumbles. He looks me down head to toe and steps close. My back now on the wall behind me.

"This summer has been absolutely awful, you don't even know." I groan. George kisses my neck gently.

"Fred and I have been making big strides towards our joke shop stuff. Till mum found our order sheets and tossed them in the fire along with half of the stuff we were trying to sell." George says. He moves so he can see my whole face.

"Hey, uhm, are you guys staying here tonight after the game?" I ask.

George wiggles his eyebrows. "Yeah we are? Why you want to sneak off and do something?" He pecks my lips a few times.

"You shouldn't stay. It's not safe." My voice is stern and I think George gets it because he stops trying to seduce me and steps back a bit.

"What do you mean its not safe? What do you know that you're not telling me?" George's eyes dart around my face looking for answers.

"I... I can't tell you exactly what's going to happen but its not good. You'll be in danger if you stay and I won't be able to protect you." I say quietly. I look down at my feet. George puts his hand on my chin and raises my gaze back up to his face.

"Protect me? Violet are you going to be alright? You're sort of scaring me." George says.

I nod a bunch, "I'll be okay trust me. Just please try and get your father to take you home if the game finishes tonight."

George nods, "Yeah alright. I'll try but I can't promise anything."

I grab the back of his neck and kiss him hard which takes him by surprise but its not long before he's kissing me back just as hard. "Mmhmm alright we have to get back, the game's probably started and my uncle and aunt will get suspicious." I say pulling away from him.

"Ugh yeah I guess." George sighs. He opens the bathroom door a bit, "No ones out here we're good."

George and I walk out of the bathroom and back to the stadium. We decide for George to walk back into the box first and get situated before I walk back in so that it doesn't look suspicious. Couse that only makes it look more suspicious. When I sit back down in my seat Fred turns around and looks at me, winks, and turns his attention back to the game.

"You sure you just went to the bathroom?" Draco whispers in my ear.

I look at him with wide eyes and slap his arm, "Shut the fuck up." I whisper back at him.


	77. Part 4, Chapter 4

"Pay up Draco! Three sickles!" I cheer. Viktor Krum caught the snitch but Ireland had the most points.

Draco roars in defeat and slaps three sickles into my open hand. Uncle Lucius who was also cheering for Bulgaria looks defeated whereas Aunt Narcissa and I who were cheering for Ireland look like we are on cloud nine.

"Come now children, I don't want to be stuck behind a hundred thousand wizards trying to get out of the stadium." Uncle Lucius says. He bids goodbye to the Minister and ushers us forward out of the box. Getting down to the ground was a much harder task than it was when George and I snuck away.

It feels like forever till we touch the ground. And when we do Uncle Lucius guides us through the mess of cheering wizards and tents to the outskirts of the field. "Come in here, hurry now." Aunt Narcissa opens the flap of the tent and Uncle Lucius heads in first, Draco and I follow and Aunt Narcissa closes the tent flap behind her.

"Violet!" Emma launches herself onto me and wraps me in a big hug.

I hug her back as tight as I can and pull away quickly, "I hate that this is our reunion." I whisper to her. She nods her head, takes my hand and pulls me into the back of the very large tent. Henrietta, Miriam, and Clarissa are sitting down on one of the beds that are set up. Marcus, Cassius, Adrian, Miles, and Graham are sitting on the floor looking up at us.

"Welcome to the shit show Violet." Miles says from his spot on the floor.

I nod and sit down with Emma on an empty bed. Draco comes over and sits with us, not making eye contact with anyone. Gemma Farley, and Terrence Higgs, two sixth, well now seventh year Slytherins come over and sit on some arm chairs that have been set up.

"Draco's been recruited?" Miles asks me looking at Draco with a strange form of interest.

Emma looks at me, almost as if she has the same question. "No, he was just here to watch the match with our family. We can't really send him back home so he's staying with us. My uncle will have him hidden away in the forest to make sure he's out of harms way."

Everyone nods in agreement. Draco is far too young to be exposed to the horrors that will be occurring tonight whatever those may be. "Violet? What's actually happening...?" Draco asks me quietly.

I give him a quick run down of what I've ben told by my uncle and I literally watch the colour drain from his face, "I don't want to be here. I want to go home." He whispers.

I put my hand on his knee and squeeze, the same thing Aunt Narcissa did to me that day in my uncles office. "None of us want to be here kid." Miriam says, her voice monotone and deep.

"So we just... sit here and wait?" Cassius asks looking at us all.

Gemma clears her throat, "Well none of us are of age so we can't use magic tonight. Our parents and the other Death Eaters are in the other room planning out exactly what needs to happen. When they say, we'll follow them out of the tent and watch what's going on. I dunno about your parents but my parents wouldn't let be bring my wand tonight just in case a ministry man sees us."

"Yeah my parents took my wand from me last night and hid it in their room to make sure I didn't have it." Henrietta says. "But it's not like it matters anymore, they pulled me out of Hogwarts."

For the next like four hours we sit there in relative silence, listening to the Irish celebrate their win around us, and the soft murmuring of our parents in the other room.

The sound of high heels clicking on the wooden floor comes closer to us. We all look over at the room opening and Aunt Narcissa is standing there smiling sadly at us. "Draco sweety come with me now."

Draco looks at me with fear in his eyes, I give him the same sad smile that is on Aunt Narcissa's face and pat his shoulder, "You're alright okay? Go with your mother and stay hidden. I'll be fine." I whisper.

Draco nods and gets up from the bed and shuffles over to his mother. Aunt Narcissa puts her hand on his shoulder and guides him out of the room. He looks back at me one last time before they leave the tent completely.

Then someone I don't know comes in the room carrying a big box of stuff. "Each of you, put on a black robe and a mask." He tosses the bag into the middle of the room. "Hurry now."

Everyone scrambles to do as they're told, Terrence hands me a robe and a mask and I pass it back to Emma. I grab another set and pull the robes over top of my clothes. I put the mask on then pull it up so its resting on the top of my head. I do up the top button on my cloak and help Emma with hers.

"This is it." Emma whispers.

I nod and sigh really deeply, "No going back now."

I look around at my peers, my friends, everyone is just as scared as I am. We all look around the room at each other. Then we hug, in the middle of the room. It feels better to know that I'm not the only one here that's nervous. We then all turn around and walk out into the room that all the adults are standing in. Each of them has the same mask on and are wearing the same robe.

"Hoods up, cover your hair. Put your masks on." One of the snaps at us. We do as we are told no questions asked. Emma grabs my hand and squeezes it tight. The adults walk out of the tent and we follow close behind. Emma and I hold hands, terrified.

We march behind the Death Eaters, more and more of them come out of the surrounding tents. We march on the outskirts of the tents and because everyone is so happy about the game no one notices. The only thing I can hear is my heavy breath and the footsteps on the ground from everyone around me.

Whoever is at the front of the group leads us to the muggles house. The grounds keepers house. Suddenly we stop. "What's going on?" Emma whispers beside me. Suddenly screams. Horrible blood curdling screams from up ahead. Then four figures soar into the sky far above us. The squirm and shake against the invisible binds that are around them.

"I... those are kids! Children!" I whisper scream as to not draw attention to myself. The group starts moving forward again, the figures are still squirming in the air above us. My heart starts to beat faster. The group moves through the tents now, drawing attention to ourselves. At first there's confusion. Then there's screaming.

So.

Much.

Screaming.

Witches and wizards run in every direction. We trample over tents, the mob around us laughing and pointing at the muggles in the air. Then people start to set fire to the tents, it doesn't matter if they are empty or not. More screams. It's hard to breathe with the smoke in the air. My heart beats faster, my clothes suddenly feel very tight. I'm aware of everything. A bead of sweat drips down my brow and into my eye.

"I want to go home now." One of the kids beside me mutters. Tears fill my eyes as I watch the smallest child start to spin like a top in midair, their head flopping limply.

I look around at the wizards fleeing and spot a group of red heads, "George!" I say too loudly.

Emma spins her head around and looks where I'm looking, "Don't. Don't draw attention to them." She whispers. We look back around at the horrors that are happening around us. Tents on fire, children crying, women screaming.

The female muggle, the children's mother I assume is spun upside down, her night dress falls down over her face showing her under things to everyone around. The crowd of Death Eaters roar with laughter, the woman struggles against gravity to keep some of her decency.

Through the smoke and laughter around us we can see a bright green light shoot through the sky over top of the forest. The light turns into a big skull, which goes higher and gets bigger. The skulls jaw opens wide and a snake slithers out of it and wraps itself around the skull.

"The Dark Lord!" Someone up ahead shouts. Then flashes of light come from everywhere, people around us turn to black smoke as they Apparirate out of harms way. My friends start to scream, we can't magic ourselves away even if we knew how. None of us have wands.

"Your cloaks! Take them off, throw them in the fire!" Cassius shouts. None of us have a better idea so we follow his lead. We throw our cloaks and masks into a nearby fire. Miles starts to scream for help, more and more of the Death Eaters turn to smoke and vanish. I lock eyes with Uncle Lucius, his long blond hair has fallen out of his hood. I stare at him, screaming for help. But he doesn't. He turns away from me and vanishes. Leaving me alone and terrified.

"Violet!" Arthur Weasley screams from a distance. He comes sprinting past what I can assume is other ministry folk. "Stop! These are children!"

Arthur Weasley comes running up to me and hugs me close to him. As soon as he touches me I start to sob, ugly, loud, sobs rack my body. He strokes my hair, "It's alright Violet, you're okay now."

The Minister comes up to us, "What did you see? Where did they go!" He roars.

Gemma steps up and take the Minister to the side and talks to him alone. Arthur lets go of me and puts his hands on my shoulders. "You're coming with me tonight. Staying at the burrow till everything is sorted."

The Minister comes back over with Gemma. "We'll have a Ministry member take each of you back to your homes. I'm so sorry that this has happened to you all." The Minister says.

Emma looks at me with tears in her eyes, her parents abandoned her here just like my Uncle did to me. I nod, encouraging her to go and she does. One by one the kids around me are taken by a ministry member back to their homes. Once everyone is gone Arthur takes my hand and Aspirates away, taking me with him.

It's the first time I've ever Apparated, it feel like my insides are now my outsides, my head hurts, the world is spinning. Then it's not. We land outside of a small tent. Arthur pulls the tent open and he steps inside. I take a breath before doing the same.

Instantly I'm being hugged by four Weasleys. Fred, Ginny, Ron, and George throw themselves on top of me. "God Violet are you okay?" George says. His siblings let go of me but George hugs me tighter.

"no."


	78. Part 4, Chapter 5

"Well this isn't really the way I wanted to meet my brother's girlfriend but I'll take what I can get," Charlie says to me while handing me a cup of tea.

We used the portkey to get back to the Burrow. Molly didn't ask questions she just pulled me into a big hug when she saw me which only made me start crying all over again. George never leaves my side.

I chuckle a bit and sniff my nose, "Wasn't really what I wanted to look like when I was meeting George's older brothers either if I'm being quite honest."

Bill sits down on am overstuffed armchair in front of George and I. Charlie sits on the coffee table in front of us. "If it makes you feel any better, we've heard loads about you. All of them good." Bill says. He picks up a cookie from the plate that Molly put on the table a little while ago. She and Arthur have been in the kitchen muttering about what to do now that I'm here.

I take a sip of my tea, my hands are still shaking so bad that I spill a bit of it on the carpet, "Oh damn, I'm sorry." I whisper. I put my tea on the table and take a napkin and dab the carpet with it.

"Violet, please don't worry about that. Do you know the kind of things that we've spilt on this carpet?" George says jokingly.

I look at him and smile weakly, "Yeah... you're right sorry. I'm just not... I'm really tired." I close my eyes and flashes of the riot flood my brain. The screams, the muggle child being tossed in the air, my uncle abandoning me. I snap my eyes open and focus on my surroundings.

"How about you head up to bed? We can figure everything out tomorrow morning once we've had some time." Charlie suggests. He looks so much like his mother, the caring eyes, the gentle smile.

I nod and sniff my nose again. "Yeah, that sounds great." I rub my palms on my knees, "Uhm, I'm staying in Ginny's room I assume?"

"Hermione is staying in Ginny's room. Mum said you can stay in the twins room as long as you all stay in your own beds." Bill says. He gets up from the chair and pokes his head into the kitchen where his parents are talking, "The bed for Violet is set up in the twins room right? Everyone is getting tired."

Molly comes into the living room with the same caring, yet sad and worried look on her face that Charlie has had on all night, "Yes of course dear. Get some sleep and we'll talk in the morning. I've already written to your aunt and uncle and told them that you are staying here for a spell."

I nod and say a quiet goodnight to everyone before I follow George up into his room. Fred is sitting on his bed in his pyjamas when we get in.

"Are you alright Vi?" Fred asks me, his eyebrows furrowed together.

Tears well up in my eyes again, "They... they tortured those people and I just watched... I let them do it." I sob. George stands there looking at me, not to sure what to do in this moment. "I didn't even want to be there... he forced me to go. And then he just. He just left me there. Like he didn't raise me for the past fourteen years." I sit down on the bed that Molly has set up for me and I curl in a ball.

George goes over to his dresser and pulls out a pair of sweatpants and one of his tee shirts. "You can wear this to bed love." He hands it to me and I take it from him carefully.

"Yeah... Yeah I'll go get changed...." I mumble. I get up from the bed and shuffle out of his room and down the stairs to the bathroom that's on the first floor. I wait behind Percy in the line to the bathroom. Silent tears fall down my cheeks and drip onto the clothes I'm carrying.

I sniff and Percy looks over his head and sees me, "Oh Violet, here, you go first. It's alright." Hermione comes out of the bathroom and looks at me funny before I step in and close the door behind me. I change out of my skirt and blouse and into the cozy oversized clothes that George lent to me.

I put my palms on the sink and sigh. I look at myself in the reflection of the mirror. My tear stained cheeks, my bright red eyes, my messy hair. I turn on the cold water and splash my hot face with it to try and calm myself down. I pat my face dry, pick up my clothes from the floor and head back out to the twins room.

"What do I do? I don't know how to help her?" I can hear George say through the door. I stop outside so I can listen to the conversation.

"I don't think that there is anything that you can do G. I mean she was forced to be apart of group torture, and then when things went wrong she was abandoned by her father figure. Twice in her life her parental figures put He Who Shall Not Be Named before her." Fred responds.

The floor creaks and I can hear a muffled thud which I can only assume is George tossing himself onto his bed. "I hate seeing her like this." He says.

Fred, or I think it's Fred, sighs deeply, "I hate it too trust me. But all we can do now is be there for her? She knows that you love her. She knows that this entire family loves her. Just be there. Listen to her. Make her feel safe."

I creak the door open and Fred and George both sit up in their beds. "Hey..." I say softly.

George smiles, "Hey..." I put my clothes on a chair by the door and I curl up in my bed, pulling the covers over top of my body so only my face is showing. "I'll blow the candle out." George says. He looks at me and I just nod in agreement.

When the candle goes out all the light in the room disappears. Thankfully though the Weasley house is never completely quiet and I can still hear murmuring throughout the house.

As soon as my eyes are closed I'm back at the riot. Emma squeezing my hand, the pain on the grounds keepers face. The screams of the woman trying to cover up her undergarments. I thrash in my bed, the blankets feel like the thick black robes I was wearing. My eyes dart from the screaming family to the scared wizards around me. I see George and Fred running through the crowd, "George!" I scream. The Death Eaters hear me, they turn their attention away from the muggle family and start marching towards the Weasleys. "Stop! No! Please!" I scream but my screams just blend in with the crying children running away from us.

George looks at me, "Get away from me. You monster." He spits on me. I thrash again trying to get away.

"No please! I'm not a monster, I didn't mean it! I don't belong here!" I cry and scream but no ones listening.

A Death Eater grabs my shoulders and shakes me, "Violet!"

My eyes snap open and George's face is like two centimeters away from me. I look to my side and Fred is standing there looking at me like he's scared for his life. My eyes dart back to my boyfriend's face. My heart beat slows down, my breathing goes back to normal. "I'm not a monster." I whisper.

George's eyes get misty with tears, "Course you're not a monster. Who said that to you?" He coos. He traces the side of my face with his thumb.

My voice gets caught in my throat, "You did... In my dream... you told me to get away from you then you called me a monster... then you spit on me."

George sighs, "you're safe here. No one is going to hurt you." He says. Fred goes back into his bed. George gets up from my bed And turns away from me. I grab his wrist and stop him from going further.

"Sleep here with me. Please." My voice is barley a whisper. I'm so exhausted, my eye lids are heavy but I'm terrified to close them.

"Of course my love."


	79. Part 4, Chapter 6

Apparently the Weasleys let me sleep in because when I get up out of bed there's a lot of noise coming from downstairs. I make my bed and straighten my pillows before pulling my hair up into a ponytail and heading down the crooked stairs into the kitchen.

"How did you sleep, dear?" Molly says. She comes over to me and gives me a big hug.

I nod, "Fine yeah. I'm sorry if I had nightmares and woke you up."

Molly pulls away from me and smiles, "Don't you worry about that for one second. Come now let's get you something to eat. We also have mail for you."

Molly guides me to the table. I sit down and she puts a plate full of food in front of me. She then hands me a letter. I recognize the handwriting instantly. It's from my Aunt.

Violet,

I am so sorry about last night. When I found out that Lucius left you there... my heart broke into a million pieces. I'll never say it out loud but I am so thankful for the Weasleys for taking you in last night. I understand that you are probably very mad at your uncle right now so I thought it would be best for you to travel to Kings Cross with the Weasleys. Your uncle is sorry for his actions but I know that doesn't mean anything to you right now. Draco is furious with his father and honestly so am I. I have sent a ministry car with all of your things. I packed all of the things Norby got you from Diagon Alley along with everything from your dresser and your desk (including your wand), your cat as well. And I made sure to pack the dress we got you for the Yule Ball. I've also put 100 galleons in your trunk for whatever your heart desires. I sent this letter with your new owl, be sure to give it a name. I love you, I miss you, and I am so very sorry for what happened last night.

Please write to me if you need anything at all throughout the year and I will do my best to get it to you.

All my love,

Auntie Narcissa

I finish reading the letter and place it gently beside my plate. "A car came this morning full of all your things. It's all sitting in the living room. I let your cat out of his carrier and he and Hermione's cat have been playing all morning." Molly says gently. "Your owl is in the shed with Errol, Pig, Hedwig, and Hermes."

I pick up my fork and set it down again, "Thank you so much for letting me in your home. I wouldn't know where else to go."

Molly ruffles the top of my head, "You're always welcome here darling."

George comes into the kitchen from outside and kisses the top of my head. Molly hugs him close to her till he complains. When we returned to the burrow last night Molly was terrified. She wouldn't say it around me but she hugged Fred and George to her for a very long time. Apparently they got in a fight before they left and the last thing Molly said to them was how mad she was about their OWL grades.

After I eat George and I go into the living room where everyone else is sitting. Percy is talking about the article that Rita Skeeter published in the Daily Prophet. Apparently it was out last night and there was a big discussion about it all but I don't remember a thing.

"If dad hadn't said anything, old Rita would just have said it was disgraceful that no one from the ministry had commented." Bill says. He's playing chess with Ron on the coffee table. George goes over to his brother and they start whispering and writing things down on some parchment. I curl up in one of the empty arm chairs and listen to what Bill is saying. "Rita Skeeter never makes anyone look good. Remember, she interviewed all the Gringotts curse breakers once, and called me a 'long haired pillock?"

Molly comes into the living room and stands in the doorway, running a tea towel through her hands, "Well it is a bit long dear, if you'd just let me-"

"No mum." Bill says cutting her off. I look over at Molly who rolls her eyes playfully making me smile.

"What are you two up to?" She says when she notices Fred and George muttering to themselves in the corner.

"Homework." Fred says casually. Bill and Charlie both snort.

"Don't be ridiculous. You're still on holiday."

"Yeah, we've left it a bit late." George says. I chuckle to myself.

Ron turns around and looks at me, "Don't encourage them." He whispers.

"You're not by any chance writing out a new order form are you?" Molly says to her boys. "You wouldn't be thinking of restarting Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes by any chance?"

I poke Ron with my toe and he turns to look at me again, "I gave them the name for their joke shop." I whisper.

Ron rolls his eyes, "Course you did. You're just as bad as them." He whispers back at me.

"Now mum." Fred says. He puts his quill down and turns to look at Molly, "If the Hogwarts express crashed tomorrow, and George and I died, how would you feel knowing that the last thing we ever heard from you was an unfounded accusation?"

Everyone in the living room laughs, Molly swats the back of her boys heads but she's laughing too. When Arthur comes home from the ministry George comes over to me and brings me upstairs, knowing that I wouldn't want to hear whatever is going on.

"Mum got me dress robes. Apparently there's thig big ball happening or something?" George says when he closes the door.

"Yeah! I thought I told you, my Aunt says that this year is going to be like none I've ever experienced before. The Triwizard tournament or something like that."

George sits down on his bed and pulls his trunk out from under it so he can start to pack for Hogwarts. "Speaking of your aunt, I heard she sent a letter today? Can I ask what was in it?"

I pull the letter out from the pocket in the pants that George gave me last night and hand it to him. I watch him read through it his brow furrowing together at parts, his eyes widening at others. "It wasn't even your uncle that apologized! It was your aunt!" He says. He slaps the letter onto his bed in frustration, "And in attempts to get you to accept their... no, her apology, she sent you a hundred galleons and a brand new owl?" George's face is red with anger, anger that I know I should be feeling right now but all I feel is numb. "I can't even process this. I mean my mum said an off hand comment before we left and she nearly cried at the thought that Fred and I would be upset with her. You were thrown into a violent and horrifying situation and LEFT there by essentially your parent and they just send you money in hopes that it will all go away?"

I get up and go sit behind him on his bed. I wrap my legs around his waist, press my chest into his back, and wrap my arms around his neck. "Calm down Georgie. It's alright." I whisper into his ear.

He pulls me off of him and swings me around so I'm sitting on his lap straddling him. "Look at you, comforting me when you're the one that needs the comforting." He runs a strand of my hair through his fingers. "I'm sorry this happened to you. I'm sorry your family treats you this way." He whispers.

I run my thumb against his lips as gently as I possibly can, "It's alright. I found a new family." I whisper back. He looks into my eyes and he presses his lips against mine. It's the first time I've felt anything other than fear in the past forty eight hours. I arch my back and move closer to him, deepening the kiss. I kiss him as if he's air and I just nearly drowned. He moves further onto his bed, not once breaking our lips apart. I tug on his hair and he opens his mouth more and I kiss him with tongue.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Fred says from behind us. I quickly scramble off of George's lap and wipe my mouth on the back of my hand.

"You have to pack for Hogwarts too?" I say. George flops onto the bed, his eyes fixed on an ant crawling across the ceiling.

"Course I do what kind of question is that." Fred jokes. He goes over to his bed and pulls his trunk out from underneath it just like George did. "Georgie, may I suggest packing a few dragon bladder condoms this year? I'd rather not become and uncle this early on in my life."

I start howling with laughter, George pulls the pillow out from under his head and launches it at Fred, "Go to hell." George says, which doesn't sound very threatening given he's laughing too.

"With you two snogging every ten seconds I'm afraid I'm already there." Fred says throwing the pillow back at his brother.

"Sounds like heaven to me." I say through a big smile on my face.

Fred rolls his eyes, "Disgusting behavior."


	80. Part 4, Chapter 7

"Arthur! Arthur! Urgent message from the ministry!" Molly screams up the staircase. Fred, George, Ron, Harry, and I jump out of his way as he races down the stairs with his robes on backwards.

"Reason number seventy-two why I never want to work for the ministry," Fred says after his father has passed by. We all laugh and head down the stairs and into the kitchen for breakfast. Molly is talking away with whoever is in the fireplace and Arthur is scrambling for a quill.

"Morning," Bill says. He, Charlie, and Ginny are sitting at the table. Ginny is siping on pumpkin juice while her older brothers are each drinking a cup of coffee.

"Morning," George says back. He sits down beside Ginny and ruffles her hair and she smiles.

"I'm going to go get changed. I'll be back." I lean down and kiss George on the cheek and Bill and Charlie whistle.

As I'm leaving the kitchen I hear Arthur going on about dustbins as he frantically takes notes about what the fireplace man is saying.

"She's way out of your league Georgie." I can hear Charlie say as I'm going up the stairs into the bathroom.

"I'm honestly surprised that you managed to get her to date you. She's like... really cute." Bill says in agreement.

"Don't talk too loud or she'll hear you and change her mind. She'll notice that I'm the mor attractive twin." Fred says.

"I hate you all." George says. I smile to myself and quickly get changed in the bathroom. By the time I'm out and back downstairs there is rain hitting the windows and Arthur is no where to be seen.

"Mad Eye? What has he been up to now?" Bill says as I get back into the kitchen.

I sit down in between Fred and George and Ginny passes me a plate with toast on it, "He said someone tried to break into his house last night." Molly says, her back turned to us as she finishes up breakfast.

"Mad Eye Moody?" George says. He spreads marmalade on his toast and passes me the jar, "Isn't he that nutter-"

Molly turns around and starts to dish out eggs and sausage to us all, "Your father thinks very highly of Mad-Eye Moody." Molly says sternly. She finishes giving us breakfast and hurries out of the room.

"Yeah well dad collects plugs doesn't he?" Fred says quietly, "Birds of a feather..." Ginny snorts, sending her scrambled eggs all over the table. She looks embarrassed but we all start laughing and soon she's laughing too.

Bill gets up from the table to grab a rag to clean up the mess, "Moody was a great wizard in his time." He says as he cleans up.

Charlie swallows his toast hard, "He's an old friend of Dumbledore isn't he?" He asks the room.

"Dumbledore's not what you'd call normal, though is he?" Fred says. It's hard to try and keep up with conversation with this many Weasleys at the table. They tend to talk very fast and all at the same time.

"Who is Mad-Eye Moody?" Harry asks.

Charlie cuts up the sausage on his plate as he responds, "He's retired, used to work at the ministry. I met him once when dad took me into work with him. He was an Auror- one of the best actually..." When Charlie notices that Harry hasn't got a clue what an Auror is he says, "A dark wizard catcher. Half the cells in Azkaban are full because of him."

I flinch at the word Azkaban and George puts his hand on my knee under the table for support. "He made himself loads of enemies though." Charlie continues, oblivious to my situation, "the families of the people he's caught mainly... and I've heard he's been getting really paranoid in his old age. Doesn't trust anyone anymore, see's dark wizards everywhere."

George looks at me to make sure I'm alright. I nod and finish eating my breakfast. Molly comes back into the room and sighs to herself. "Ministry doesn't have any cars they can send for us so I used your fathers telly-phone to get us muggle drives.. uhm what the word..."

"Taxis?" Harry says watching Molly.

Mollys face lights up, "Yes! Taxis! It'll definitely be interesting, never been in a car with a muggle driver before but we have Harry to help us."

"We'll come too mum. We don't need you to get lost on the way back." Charlie says looking at Bill, "Right Billy?"

Bill nods in agreement. Molly sends her kids upstairs to get their trunks and things. Hermione and I find our cats and help each other put them in their carriers and I go out to the shed to get my owl, who I've named Otis and put him in a cage as well.

"I'm sorry I can't come." Percy says as he helps Ginny bring her things outside, "Mister Crouch is really starting to rely on me."

George comes up behind him and claps his shoulder, "Yeah you know what Percy, I reckon he'll know your name soon." Percy looks flabbergasted and Ron and I start laughing.

"Alright so we'll have Fred, George, Violet, and Charlie in one ... turksty?" Molly says trying to sort what is going to happen. "Then we'll have Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Bill in another. And that leaves Ginny and I in the last one."

When the cars pull up Charlie helps George, Fred, and I pack our things into the trunk and we all squeeze into the back with Charlie in the passenger seat. Molly hands Charlie some muggle money so he can pay for the drive. "Where to?" The driver asks.

"Kings Cross station in London please." Charlie says. The driver nods and pulls out of the Weasley driveway. Charlie turns around and looks at us. "So Violet. Tell me about yourself. We haven't had much time to talk."

"Well I live with my Aunt and Uncle, they raised me along with their son." I start.

Charlie nods, "Ah yes Mum and Dad told me that your Uncle is Lucius Malfoy right?" I nod and mumble a yeah, "So why did you parents give you to them?"

George shakes his head and Charlie looks confused. "My mother and father were sent to Azkaban when I was two years old. They've been in there ever since so I was raised by my Aunt Narcissa and my Uncle Lucius."

Charlie nods, slowly putting two and two together, "Wait... What's your last name again Violet?"

"Alright that's enough." George cuts in. "I don't need you giving my girlfriend the third degree in the back of a turksty."

The driver looks into the rear view mirror but doesn't say anything. "LeStrange." I say, ignoring George.

Charlies eyes go wide for a moment, "George writes to me nearly every month you know, he mostly just talks about you though. Is it true that you got top of your class OWL year?"

I laugh thankful that he changes the subject, "Auntie and Uncle always told me that I had to be perfect, top of my class each year and I made sure that it happened."

"So why do you hang out with these idiot then?"

George and Fred scoff, "They're actually pretty smart once you scrape past the sarcastic, annoying exterior." I say

Charlie laughs, "To be fair they have been creating joke products to sell. I never would have thought of that one."

"Thank you Charlie. Now if you want, you can donate twenty galleons to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and you will get twenty percent off all purchases for life." Fred says. He puts hit hand out towards his brother and Charlie slaps his hand away.

"Mum would kill me if I bought into your little business." The rest of the drive was a lot of laughing and talking about nothing. Apparently Charlie was some hot shot Gryffindor seeker in his time and he was very shocked when George told him I'm not a fan of quidditch.

"My cousin plays on the Slytherin team so I go to all his games and watch. And I go to all the Gryffindor games too, the supportive girlfriend thing and all that."

When we get to Kings Cross the twins and I get out of the car and Charlie pays the driver and I assume obliviate him so he forgets the weirdness that he was just apart of. Fred goes to get us trollies and we load our stuff onto them and wait for the rest of the Weasley group to get here.

"Do you think sixth year is as bad as they say?" Fred asks George and I.

Charlie turns and looks at us, "It's much worse. Especially for you idiots. Top of her class over there is going to be just fine." Charlie winks at me which triggers George's jealousy thing he's got going on. George wraps himself around me and glares at his older brother.

The other turksty... taxi... whatever they're called that the rest of the Weasleys are in pulls up in front of us. Molly nearly falls out of the car and scrambles to give the driver the muggle money she's got clutched in her hand and pully Ginny out of the car. "Mum here let me get Ginny's trunk. You go help Ron and his friends." George offers. Molly looks at him with relief in her eyes and dashes off to the other car.

Ginny comes over and stands beside me as George wrestles her trunk out of the trunk of the car. "Did something happen on your way here?" I ask the youngest Weasley.

Ginny rolls her eyes, "Nah. Mum was just nervous the entire time. She had a tight grip on my knee the entire time, wouldn't let me talk."

George loads his sisters trunk onto a trolly, "Wanna know a secret?" I ask Ginny. She looks at me with that wicked Weasley smile on her face, "George got jealous of Charlie just then."

Ginny laughs a little and looks between George and Charlie, "You're mad. George is the easiest going one out of all of us."

"I swear."

George pushes the trolly with Ginny's things over to us, "What are you two talking about?"

Ginny and I look at each other and start laughing. I peck George on the cheek and take a hold of my trolly. The Weasley gang moves through Kings Cross and towards the entrance to 9 and ¾. One by one we run through the wall and make our way down the platform to the Hogwarts Express.


	81. Part 4, Chapter 8

I can see Uncle Lucius, Aunt Narcissa, and Draco further down the platform. Instantly tears well up in my eyes and my vision goes blurry. My breath hitches in my throat and I start to get panicky.

George notices and comes up right beside me, "You're safe with me Violet. They won't come up to you if I'm here." He whispers. Ginny is on the other side of me very confused, Molly and Arthur decided it would be best if Ron, Ginny, and Percy didn't know the extent of what happened that night.

Fred pushes Ginny out of the way and comes up beside me, "Come this way. We'll cut through the train so we don't have to pass them." Fred suggests. I nod and George, Fred, and I break away from the group and pull our trunks into the first train car we see. We lug our things down the train and into the booth we always sit in. Walter and Lee are already inside looking absolutely adorable together.

When Walter sees me he jumps from his seat and takes both my hands in his. "My father told me what happened. Where you there? Was Emma? Are you alright?" Walter's eyes dart all over my face. Lee sits up from his spot on the bench and looks at me with a worried expression.

"Here love give me your trunk." George puts his hand on top of mine and takes the trunk from me.

I sit down opposite of Lee and Walter sits back down beside his boyfriend. "I stayed with the Weasleys after it happened so I wouldn't have to see them. A ministry member took Emma home that night, I haven't heard from her since..." The booth door slides open with a loud bang and Emma is standing in the entrance, "Emma!" I jump from my seat and engulf her small frame into a big hug.

We stand like that for a long time, clinging onto each other for dear life it feels like, "What did your parents say?" I whisper to her.

Emma starts to cry, "They didn't really say anything. They just watched as the ministry guy walked me up to the front door and I hid in my room till a few hours ago when we left to come here." She whispers back. "What about you? Did you hear from your aunt and uncle?"

I start crying as well, "My aunt sent a letter along with all my Hogwarts things to the Weasleys. Didn't hear a thing from my uncle."

Emma and I let go of each other so we can actually see each others faces. "We should go down to the Slytherin car..." Emma says softly.

I nod a few times. That night everyone in our year was there, everyone but Walter that is. We were all abandoned together, we understand each other.

The train lurches forwards and we start to pull out of the station. I go and stand in front of George and put my hands on his shoulders. "I have to go see my friends. I'll be back later alright?"

George looks up at me from where he is sitting, "You sure? I can come with you if you want?"

I smile and traces my thumb gently across his jawline, "I'm alright love. Emma and I just have to go see the others that were there that night. We just understand each other you know?"

George leans into my touch and puts his hand over top of mine, "I just wish I was the one who understood you know."

Emma scoffs from behind us, "You really don't George. Violet can tell you everything that happened that night but you won't be able to understand. You won't be able to just get it. Your parents wouldn't even consider leaving you there. Fuck your parents weren't even there. So just please for the love of all things good in this world just shut up and let us go." Emma snaps. George looks like someone just stabbed him. Walter and Lee look at her with their mouths wide open.

"We'll see you two later. It's a long ride there." Fred says trying to ease the tension.

I kiss the top of George's head softly and walk out of the booth with Emma.

"You didn't have to say that stuff you know. I mean its true but you didn't have to say it." I nudge Emma with my shoulder and we laugh.

"Don't you find it annoying though? I mean he's treating you like a broken doll, and he's wishing that he was there! Like who looks at a situation like that and sees someone they love go through that and say 'wow I wish I was there."

When we get to the end of the train Emma pulls open the car door and instantly Draco throws himself at me and hugs me tight. "I can't believe father did that to you. Mother and I both yelled at him for hours when he got back without you."

I squeeze him tight and sigh, "I'm just happy you weren't there."

Draco stays by my side when Emma and I go over to talk to everyone that was there that night, which is basically everyone in sixth and seventh year. They are all gathered on one side of the train car mumbling.

Gemma looks at Emma and I and nods, then looks at Draco, "Can he stay?" I ask her.

"Yeah come on."

Emma and I squeeze onto the bench and Draco sits beside me on the edge. "Is everyone alright?" Emma asks looking around.

"My father said it was the safest thing to do. They knew that the ministry wouldn't get mad at a bunch of kids and they would have been thrown into Azkaban." Graham says.

"I'd rather have my parents locked up in Azkaban then go through that again." Miriam grumbles. Cassius and Miles nod in agreement.

"By the looks of things that might be sooner than later. Did you see the dark mark?" Clarissa says.

"Well the dark mark means the Dark Lord. And after the last war, so many of his followers, our parents, said and did everything they could to get out of going to Azkaban. Which meant that they denied any and all relation to him. If he's really coming back then how do you think the Dark Lord is going to feel knowing that everyone abandonded him." I say. I look from my hands up at every ones faces.

"My mother wanted me to get the dark mark this summer. I had to beg her for more time." Emma says.

"Same."

"Same."

"Me too."

"I have till the end of my seventh year." Terrence says.

Gemma puts her hand on his, "Same here." She whispers. The two of them are starting their seventh year this year. Which means that it's a matter of a few months till they are forced to become what they fear the most.

"So we stay together this year. We support one another, stand as a unit." Adrian says.

Clarissa rolls her eyes, "Violet and Emma are talking to the Weasleys still. I don't talk to blood traitors."

Miles slams his hand on the table in front of him, "Damn it Clarissa! Who gives a shit about who we talk to during school! We are fucked, like absolutely screwed! And no one but us can understand what that feels like. Violet and Emma are apart of this, they're one of us. So would you please just shut up." He roars.

Clarissa sinks into her chair and Emma and I go red in the face. "We've all lived together for six years, we're basically family at this point. A better family than our ones at home." Cassius looks around the table at all of us, "We're in this for the long run by the looks of things. It's easier to be friends."

"Agreed."

"Agreed."

"Yeah I guess."

Everyone looks at me waiting for my response, "Yeah."


	82. Part 4, Chapter 9

The sorting was quick but the feast was better than ever. Any food you could ever imagine was put out on the tables. Walter ate more than I ever thought he could.

"So!" Dumbledore says after the plates and leftover food was whisked off the tables. "Now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention while I give out a few notices!" The room is dead silent, the only thing we can hear is the rain and the wind against the castle walls. "Mister, Filch the caretaker has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside this castle has been extended to include Screaming yoyos, fanged frisbees, and ever-bashing boomerangs. The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty-seven items I believe and can be viewed in Mister Filch's office if anybody would like to check it."

"That's likely," Walter says making Emma and I laugh a little.

I look across the room and lock eyes with George he looks at me and dramatically rolls his eyes which makes me laugh even more.

"As ever, I would like to remind you all that the Forest on the grounds is out of bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year." Dumbledore continues. George keeps making faces at me from the Gryffindor table. "It is also my painful duty to inform you that the inter-house Quidditch cup will not take place this year."

The room erupts into gasps and screams of horror from the quidditch players of each house. "Oh thank god." I say to Emma. I look back at George and he looks like someone hit him in the chest.

"This is due to an event that will be starting in October and continuing throughout the school year taking up much of the teachers time and energy- but I am sure that you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts..."

Thunder rolls over head and the great halls doors slam open with a great bang. A dark figure, dripping wet, is standing in the middle of the doorway, "And who the bloody hell is that?" Walter says clearly very tired of the surprises that Hogwarts seems to throw at us constantly.

The stranger steps into the hall and marches up to the stage where Dumbledore is standing, "Is that Alastor Moody? The Auror?" Emma says. She strains her neck so she can get a better look at him.

"He had some trouble with intruders this morning. Arthur Weasley had to go help him." I say watching this crooked old man step up to the stage and shake Dumbledore's hand.

"What's wrong with his face?" Walter says. I hit him in the arm to get him to shut up.

"May I introduce or new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." Dumbledore says to the room, "Professor Moody!"

Everyone in the room claps politely, "God this place is going to the dogs." I hear Draco say a few seats down.

Professor Moody takes his place at the teachers table and Dumbledore clears his throat, "As I was saying. We are going to have the honour of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event which has not been held for over a century. It is my great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"YOUR'RE JOKING!" Fred screams from the Gryffindor table. The room erupts into laughter. George looks just as excited as his brother, they're both staring at Dumbledore like he's the last chocolate frog at Honeydukes.

"I am not joking Mister Weasley, though I did hear an excellet one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar-" Dumbledore starts but McGonagall clears her throat to get our Headmaster back on track. "Maybe now is not the time. Where was i? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament..."

Dumbledore goes on to explain in brief what the tournament entails. Everyone around me starts to whisper feverishly, many of them getting ready to sign themselves up. I don't have to look at George to know that he and Fred are thinking about signing up to compete.

"Is it bad that I miss quidditch? At least it doesn't have a death toll." I say to my friends.

"Well, I mean..." Walter starts.

I roll my eyes, "At least the death toll is a lot smaller than this one."

"An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money." Dumbledore says. That really puts the icing on the cake. The entire room explodes with whispers about the prize money. I glance at Fred and George who are grinning from ear to ear talking about signing up no doubt.

"The heads of the participating schools, along with the ministry of magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age- that is to say, seventeen years or older- will be allowed to put forward their names in consideration."

Relief floods my entire body. George is still sixteen till April, meaning I won't have to watch him die for a thousand galleons. Everyone else however, isn't as relieved as I am. Draco is screaming about how unfair it is along with nearly everyone else.

Dumbledore raises his hands to silence the crows but it doesn't work very well, "It is a measure we feel is necessary given that the Tournament tasks will still be dangerous and difficult, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them. I personally will be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks..." He looks over at the Gryffindor table no doubt looking straight at the Weasley twins, "our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion."

When Dumbledore finishes telling us when the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving he claps his hands and dismisses us for bed. I push past the grumbling students and make my way over to the twins.

"They can't do that!" George says angrily when I show up by his side, "We turn seventeen in April, why can't we have a shot?"

I put my hand on his arm and only then does he realize that I'm there, "Put your name in the draw and I'll kill you myself George Weasley." I say to him.

"But a thousand Galleons? Violet that is just what Freddie and I need to get our joke shop started."

"They're not stopping me from entering. You either Violet." Fred says stubbornly. "The champions'll get to do all sorts of stuff you'd never be allowed to do normally. And a thousand galleons."

"Yeah... a thousand galleons..." Ron says dreamily. We walk out of the great hall together and I pull George away from the moving crowd of students.

"George seriously. Entering a deadly tournament? Do you have any brain left up there?" I tap my knuckles on George's forehead gently.

George swats my hand away, "If we enter we still have to be chosen. And it's not like we have daddy's money to help us do what we want." He huffs.

I take a step backwards and look at him hurt. George realizes what he says immediately and tries to apologise, "No please George. Tell me what you really think? That I'm not working hard for my own future? That I am just waiting for my aunt and uncle to give me all the money I will ever possibly need?" I snap.

George reaches for my hand but I pull it away from him and wrap my arms around myself. "Violet that's not what I meant... It's just... you got in a fight with your aunt and uncle and they just gave you a hundred galleons. My parents don't even have a hundred galleons right now."

"Right because it was just some stupid fight. My uncle didn't leave me in the middle of a damn riot to save himself!" I roar. George looks at me slacked jaw and stunned. I've never spoken to him like this before. "Look George. Do whatever it is that you want. I can't control you. But I swear to god if you put your name in the draw, if you compete, if you force me to watch as you get pulled apart limb by limb for the chance at a thousand galleons, you'll have to find a new girlfriend. I can't do that right now. I can't watch you risk your life for something as stupid as money."

George gets red in the face which means he's either angry or embarrassed, "Something as stupid as money? Money is stupid to you because you've always had it! You don't even like flying and you have a damn Nimbus two thousand and one! You get new robes every damn year and you haven't even started to grow out of your old ones! This money will start Fred and my's business! This is what I'm passionate about and you're saying if I compete you'll break up with me?"

I run my hands through my hair and pull on the ends, "I can't sit there and watch you put your life in danger! I love you too much to see that happen! I worry about you when you're on the damn quidditch field! Even thinking about you fighting a dragon or some shit like that makes me physically ill!"

George huffs and turns in a circle slowly as a way to calm himself down. "You and I both know that Fred and I are going to try to get our names in." He says quietly.

"I know..." I mumble.

"And you know that if either of us get picked we are going to compete and try our hardest to win."

"I know..."

George takes a few steps forward so our foreheads are touching, "And you and I both know that you're going to be sitting in the stands watching if either of us get chosen because you love us. Well you love me differently than you do Fred but you love us both." George jokes.

I smile at the ground and look up so I can see his eyes, "I know..."

"You really get scared every time I play quidditch?" George jokes breaking the tension that we've created.

I laugh a little, "Course I do. I don't know what I'd do with myself if you got hurt."

George wraps his arms around me and hugs me close, "You'd probably cry a lot." George whispers.

I pull away and slap his chest, "I hate you." I joke.

"You're cute when you cry though so it's alright."

"Oh am I now? I'm cute when I'm screaming and crying and waking up your entire family because I'm having nightmares?" I say referencing back to my episode a few nights back.,

"The cutest." He takes my face in my hands and peppers me with soft gentle kisses, "I have to go back to the common room. I'll see you tomorrow." He ruffles my hair with his hand, "I love you."

"Love you too, idiot."


	83. Part 4, Chapter 10

"Where did you go?" Emma asks me when I get into the Slytherin common room.

My cat Fergus comes padding over to me and I pick him up. My friends and I go sit by the back wall where there is an empty couch. "I had a chat with George. He and Fred are going to try and get their names into the draw for the tournament."

Emma gasps and Walter just rolls his eyes, "How are we even friends with such idiots." He says.

I shrug my shoulders, Fergus curls up in my lap and falls asleep purring softly, "The real question is how am I dating such an idiot."

"You talked him out of it though right? I mean he can't be that stupid." Emma pushes.

I explain the fight I had with George to my friends, by the end of it I'm exhausted so I excuse myself and head to bed.

The next day everyone is still talking about the Tournament. I have a strong feeling that no ones going to talk about anything but till the other schools get here.

"First day of classes and we don't have any till this afternoon." I sit down at the Slytherin table and look at my schedule.

Emma peers over my shoulder, "Who else is in charms do you know?"

Walter takes the biggest bite of his cereal and talks with his mouth full of food, "All of us do, Jordy, George, and Fred."

"I've been meaning to ask you. How are you and Lee doing? I mean you were pretty snuggly in the Hogwarts Express so I'm going to assume that you're still together?" Emma rips off a piece of her toast and shoves it in her mouth.

"We spent a lot of time together over the summer. I met his parents, he's met mine. We did a lot of... stuff." Walter chugs his entire cup of orange juice.

"Like... stuff stuff?" Emma giggles.

I roll my eyes, "We're nearly adults Em you can just call it sex." I say spreading marmalade on my toast.

Emma sticks her tongue out at me, "Alright fine." She looks back at Walter who is smiling at me, "Walter, did you and Lee have sex yet?"

Walter smiles to himself and shrugs, "Might have yeah." Emma and I both squeal and start hollering. We get looks from the surrounding Slytherins as well as Snape who doesn't look very pleased with our behaviour this morning.

When breakfast ends we find our favourite Gryffindors and we head outside into the sun for the first half of the day. Because we don't have classes till later none of us are in uniform which is my favourite thing.

"Sixth year charms, Bill said it was nearly impossible to get a high grade." Fred says after we find a spot in the yard to spend our time.

George sits down and spreads his legs so I can sit between them and use him as a backrest. "Has anyone looked through the textbook yet? There's only six main charms we are learning, including non verbals." George says.

Emma lays in the grass flat on her back staring up at the clouds that are floating by. "Do you thin we'll get through them all with the Triwizard tournament happening? Like are these people joining in on our classes and things? How are we expected to keep up with our studies. We could barley keep up last year."

Fred pulls up some grass and sprinkles it across Emmas face. She sputters, sits up, and pushes him over. "She's got a good point though. Especially if you two geniuses actually manage go get your names in the draw." Lee says.

George wraps one of his arms around me, "We have to figure out how we are going to do that Freddie. An ageing potion might be our only way."

Fred sits up and brushes off all the grass that Emma has layered on top of him, "Hermione brought up a good point last night though, an ageing potion might not be enough. This is Dumbledore we are talking about."

"But that's just it. Dumbledore is going to expect greatness from those trying to sneak into the draw. He's probably thinking that everybody's just going to blow past the idea of an ageing potion because its so dimwitted." Lee says.

Fred's face lights up, "So you're going to help us? We'll spit the prize money three ways if it works."

"Yeah Jordon come on! The three amigos or whatever the muggles say." George says from behind me. I don't try to pick a fight or anything this time. I'm not their mother I can't tell them what to do.

Lee looks at Walter and Walter just shrugs, "Yeah I'll help. I could go with having... how many galleons each exactly would it be if we won?"

"333 each and another left over." Emma says. We all look at her with our eyebrows raised and she looks at us in the same way, "What? It's just basic maths."

"Hey babe, doesn't Viktor Krum go to Durmstrang?" I lean back onto George's shoulder and try to look at his face.

"Viktor Krum? The Viktor Krum! He's going to be at Hogwarts this year!" Emma screeches.

"Just because he goes to Durmstrang doesn't mean he'll be coming to Hogwarts. I don't think he's old enough to compete."

"That's not stopping you." Walter says. George huffs and I wiggle around a bit so I can kiss him on the cheek.

"He's eighteen. The hottest eighteen year old in the world." Emma says dreamily. "You don't suppose he's single do you?"

Walter bunches up his spare sweater and tosses it at her. It hits her in the face and we all burst into laughter.

A little before the lunch bell rings we decide it would be best to get changed and ready for class. With a quick peck from George I head towards the Slytherin common room with Emma and Walter.

"Wait Violet, you're taking potions this year aren't you?" Emma says as she pulls on her sweater vest overtop of her white undershirt.

I straighten my tie and look at myself in the mirror, "Uh yeah, why?" I turn to look at her. She passes me my bookbag and we head out of our dorm and wait for Walter in the common room.

"If you study love potions..."

"I am not going to steal love potion for you." I say to her.

Walter comes up to us smiling, "Love potions? Again?"

"I just want to know, truly, what I desire the most is all."

We leave the common room and walk through the dungeons and into the great hall, "Just buy a vile of it when we go to Hogsmeade next. Doesn't the tea place sell it?"

"I'll buy you some for Christmas if you want it so bad." Walter says. We sit near the end of the Slytherin table and wait for the food to appear.

"Speaking of Christmas... The boys have been working non stop on their joke store. And they need a lot of money to get it started up. If I was give them a bunch of money for it, would you guys pitch in?" I ask.

"Couse I will! I saw a few first years pouring over one of their order sheets in the hall this morning. I can't believe those two idiots are running a secret business in the castle." Emma says. Plates full of sandwiches appear at both ends of the table and slowly start to float past us. I grab a plate out of the air, take a sandwich for myself and pass the plate to Emma.

"It's really impressive I think. Molly burned all of their order sheets and a bunch of merchandise and supplies over the summer. They're selling what they have left and saving the profits."

"Imagine if Filch bans all of their joke things. That's a better legacy than any of these paintings and ghosts and things." Walter says.


	84. Part 4, Chapter 11

Emma, Walter, and I head out to charms a little early so we can get a half-decent row of desks. Flitwick nods at us as we enter the classroom. Nearly as soon as we sit down we can hear the twins and Lee from down the hall, laughing and talking loudly about god knows what.

"Flitwick! My favourite Professor, how was your summer old sport!" Fred says as soon as he gets into the room.

Flitwick looks up from his desk and cracks a smile, "It was quite alright thank you, Mister Weasley. How was yours?"

Fred tosses his bag down at a desk beside Emma and goes up to Flitwick's desk. He leans his elbows on it and smiles that wicked smile of his, "It was pretty great Flitty. Say, do you by any chance know a charm that we could use on a candy to cause people to faint. And do you by any chance know the counter curse for something like that?"

Flitwick pushes up his glasses and looks at Fred and then over at George who is beside me, "I do not condone this behaviour at all for the record." Fred nods a bunch, "But I might have a way if you come see me after dinner I can show you two how it works."

Fred looks back at George who is also smiling like an absolute moron. He turns back to Flitwick and hits the desk with his palm, "I knew Charms was my favourite class for a reason." Fred comes back and sits down in his seat. He props his feet up on his desk and crosses his arms over his chest.

"Would you please get your feet off of the desk? I don't want to look at the bottom of your shoes thanks." Emma says. She pushes his feet off of the desk and he falls forward.

"Would you please stop acting like my mother?" Fred jokes. He leans over and pecks Emma on the cheek.

I whip my head around to look at George and he just shrugs his shoulders clearly not having a clue what is happening with them either. The class slowly fills up with the other students taking NEWT charms, the class is a lot smaller than what we are used to, only sixteen students. Cedric comes in the room and passes me and my friends. He smiles and half waves at me. Which causes George to lean over in his chair to kiss me. Which doesn't work because he nearly topples over.

"Georgie honestly. You're jealous of Cedric?" I say helping him so he's sitting back upright.

George watches Cedric take a seat in the front row of the classroom with disgust on his face. "That guy just rubs me the wrong way. He walks around here like he's better than everyone else."

I pull out my quills, ink, parchment, and textbook getting ready for Flitwick's lecture to begin. "And you don't act like you're better than everyone else mister I'm going to try and trick the system so I can compete for the Triwizard cup and its going to work because I am above the law?"

More students come filing into the class, Angelina and Joycelyn from Gryffindor, Olive and Simon from Ravenclaw, each of them talking about the Triwizard cup. "I'll be able to put my name in. My birthday is on the nineteenth of October so I'll be of age." I hear Angelina say as she sits down in the row behind us.

"I wouldn't want to enter even if I could." Her friend Joycelyn says.

Flitwick stands up from his desk and circles around so he's standing in front of us, "Please everyone be quick to take your seats!" He calls. People around me shuffle as they pull things out of their bags and sit down at their desks. "Now, I would first like to congratulate you all for scoring high enough to be in this class. It's not an easy task. Your NEWT years are harder than your OWLs by a lot so be prepared for long hours in the library and study groups."

Flitwick moves from his desk and starts to weave in between the desks that are set up, "Your NEWTs are important, they decide what you can and cannot do once you leave these castle walls. It's going to be a lot harder this year with the distraction that is the Triwizard Tournament. Which is why I am implementing a new rule, no one shall speak of the tournament in my classroom. This is a place of work, a place of study, and you will need every second of the four hours we have together."

"I might cry." George whispers.

Flitwick gets back to the front of the classroom. He points his wand at the chalkboard in the corner and it comes rolling over to him, the chalk writes, 'Non Verbal Spells'. Flitwick turns and looks back at the class, "This year we will be learning and practicing non verbal spells. You will be practicing these in this class, Transfiguration if you have it, as well as Defense Against the Dark Arts if you have that class as well. By the end of the year, all of your teachers no matter your class will expect you to use non verbal spells."

The class breaks out into quiet murmering, "What do you mean all of our teachers will expect us to use non verbal spells? You're saying we can't use them anymore?" Walter says his arm stretched in the air.

"That's exactly what I'm saying Mister Clarence. Now please take our your parchment. It's going to be a long day of note taking."

George slips me a crumpled piece of parchment, I open it and smile.

WANNA TAKE MY NOTES FOR ME?


	85. Part 4, Chapter 12

"Violet! Violet come quick! Your cousin- Harry Potter... Hurry up!" A first-year Slytherin student comes running up to me and my friends in the corridor outside of the great hall that we were just about to walk into.

I turn and look at all my friends, we then all race after the first year and run into the great hall to watch as our new Professor, Mad-eye Moody, whip out his wand and turn my cousin into a ferret.

"Draco!" I scream. I rush over and reach down to the ground to pick him up, Crabbe and Goyle are standing there shocked to their core.

"Leave it!" Professor Moody yells. He turns around, his wand now pointed at me. I pull mine out of my robes fully ready to defend both myself and my cousin.

"Don't you point your wand at me," I say, my voice deep, rage bubbling through my body.

Professor Moody doesn't move, "I am your teacher Miss LeStrange, you will due well not to speak to me in that tone." He seethes.

"And you will due well not to turn my cousin into a ferret." I snap back at him.

Professor Moody flicks his wand from me to Draco... ferret... ferret Draco, and flings his small body into the air. He bounces him off the floor and back up into the air again.

"Someone go get a damned teacher!" I can hear Emma scream.

I raise my wand and step towards Professor Moody, "Put him down you crazy old man." My wand hand is shaking with anger, my cheeks are red hot.

"I don't like people who attack when their opponent's back's turned." Moody says throwing Draco in the air higher and higher. "Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do..."

I flick my wand and a white hot orb soars out of it and narrowly misses Professor Moody's head, "I said put him down." I say, stalking towards the teacher.

"Violet, if you attack a teacher there is no coming back from that." George warns. He's moved from the entrance of the great hall to my side.

"Never- do- that- again." Moody says, bouncing Draco on the floor with every word.

"Professor Moody!" I hear McGonagall's shrill voice from a bit away, "Miss LeStrange, lower your wand!"

I lower my wand hand slowly, but my eyes are fixed on Professor Moody with a type of anger I've never felt before. "Hello Professor McGonagall." Moody says, still bouncing Draco up and down in the air.

"What- what are you doing?" McGonagall says, taking the entire situation in.

"Teaching."

"You dirty, lying, piece of shit I should have aimed at your damn forehead." I scream and point my wand back at the teacher.

George and Fred grab one of my arms each and pulls me away from Moody so I don't hurt anyone or get myself in serious trouble.

"Is that a student!" McGonagall's small brain finally clueing in.

"Techincally it's a ferret." Moody says, still slamming Draco's now small body into the floor repeadidly.

"Its Draco!" I scream. I fight against Fred and George's grip but they don't budge.

"No!" McGonagall shouts. She whips out her wand and with a loud pop the ferret turns back into Draco. Fred and George let go of my arms and I run over to Draco's side and throw myself on the floor beside him. There's a big gash on his forehead and his nose is bleeding rather badly.

"Violet... could you please write to father? He has to hear about this..." Draco whispers. His eyes are full of tears but I know he won't let anyone see him cry. I help him to his feet and George comes over and helps me balance Draco between us.

McGonagall starts to yell at Professor Moody about the proper way to go about punishing students while George and I struggle to get him out of the way of Moody.

"Your father?" Moody says cutting off McGonagall and focusing back on Draco. He limps forward, his wooden leg clacking on the cobblestone floor. George shrugs all of Draco's weight onto him so I can move away and stand between Moody and Draco. "Well I know your father of old boy... you tell him that Moody's keeping a close eye on his son... and his niece." He says looking me up and down. "Your mother would be ashamed of your aim Miss LeStrange, she never missed her target." He says that part in a low voice so only I could hear.

I turn on my heels and go back over to George and Draco. I help Draco out of the great hall and up to the hospital wing. Emma, Lee, Walter, and Fred follow close behind us in case one of us trips up the steps.

Once we are out of ear shot Fred starts to laugh, "I can't believe that actually just happened."

I don't have to see her to know that Emma just swatted him with her charms book, I can hear the dull thud of it hit his arm and his shriek of pain, "Now is not the time for jokes Fred!" She says. Fred mumbles an apology and we walk in silence for the rest of the trip to Madam Pomfrey's hospital.

When we get there Madam Pomfrey instantly throws open the door and helps George and I get Draco into a bed. "He's going to stay here tonight and possibly for a few nights after that depending on the state of his injuries. The broken nose and the cut I can heal with no problem but I'm worried about a serious head injury."

"Do you have some spare parchment? I have to write to my uncle about what happened." I ask, my eyes never leaving Draco. Madam Pomfrey walks over to her desk to get me writing materials. I pull up a chair and sit beside Draco's bed. George pulls one up and sits beside me.

Madam Pomfrey returns and gives me writing things and she goes off to start preparing medicine to heal Draco. "I can't believe you threatened a professor." George whispers, he sure knows how to put a smile on my face.

"It's quite literally the first day of classes and my cousin got himself turned into a ferret." I say through uncontrolled laughter. George helps me write a quick note to my aunt and uncle explaining what happened and the threatening words from Professor Moody about how he is watching Draco and I. I address the envelope to my aunt because I still don't want to speak to my uncle quite yet.

The medicine that Madam Pomfrey gives Draco makes him fall asleep instantly so George and I leave. The rest of our friends are still in the hallway waiting for us.

"Is he alright?" Walter asks quietly.

I nod a few times and sniff my nose, "He'll be fine, Pomfrey wants to keep him in the hospital for a while to make sure that he doesn't have a bad head injury."

"Here give me the letter for your aunt and uncle. Fred and I will take that to the owlery for you so you don't have to. You owl's name is Otis right?" Emma says taking the note out of my hand.

"Yeah... thank you guys so much. And thank you Fred and George for stopping me from killing a professor I haven't even had class with yet. Imagine how long the note to my aunt and uncle would be then." I say. Fred nods and he and Emma head off to the owlery. The rest of us head back downstairs to catch the end of dinner so we don't starve all night.

"You think that something is happening between those two?" Lee asks refrencing Emma and Fred.

"If it is, he didn't tell me anything." George says. He hold onto my hand and swings our arms together in rhythm with our steps.

"Alright but doesn't he like Angelina?" Walter says.

George shrugs his shoulders, "I don't really know at this point if I'm being quite honest with you all. I'd prefer it if he dated Emma though, she would be good for him. Make him softer and care more about people and all that crap." George says, "Just like what I do for Violet."

Lee and Walter laugh and I bump my hip into George making him stumble a little, "I'm a caring person with or without you George Weasley." I say.

"Right and we all just imagined you nearly taking off our Professors head in front of the whole school."


	86. Part 4, Chapter 13

Flitwick wasn't kidding when he said all of our teachers are expecting us to use non-verbal spells, and by October that's all any of my friends are focusing on. That and the arrival of the two other schools.

"Have you two idiots figured out a way to get your names in the draw yet?" I ask George and Lee after our potions class Monday morning.

"Yes but that is very secret and confidential information. Only important people get to know." Lee says matter of factly.

"Oh, important people like George's long term girlfriend of nearly four years?" I say turning around and walking backwards out of the dungeons so I can see them both.

"We figured out an ageing potion that should work. All we have to do is age up a few months and we're laughing." George says. "We can brew enough for you to love if you've changed your mind."

"Absolutely not George Weasley. I'm still not the biggest fan of you cheating the system like this." I turn back around so I can actually see where I'm walking. There's a group of students huddled around a piece of parchment that's hung up on the wall.

George, Lee and I head over and a few of the younger students leave so we can actually see it.

Triwizard Tournament

The delegations from Beauxbaton and Durmstrang will be arriving at 6 o'clock on Friday 30th of October. Lessons will end half an hour early.

"Its happening!" I sing.

Harry and Ron push up to the front of the group so they can read it too. "Brilliant! It's potions last thing on Friday, Snape won't have time to poison us all!" Harry says.

"Only a week away! I wonder if Cedric knows, think I'll go and tell him..." Some little Hufflepuff kid exclaims.

I turn away from the parchment and go back over to George and Lee. George doesn't look very happy, "Pretty boy Diggory is competing?" George says.

"Seriously Weasley, you gotta get over this jealousy thing you got going on against Cedric. What has he ever done to you?" Lee says looking at his friend.

"Flirts with my girlfriend every chance he gets. And now he might be winning a thousand galleons for the hell of it." George grumbles.

I peck George on the cheek and he smiles a bit but he still doesn't look too pleased with the whole situation.

The next week flies past. Every spare hour that we have, my friends and I are in the library writing compositions till our hands cramp and then practicing charms and jinx's till we can't see straight. But the night of the thirtieth was one for the books.

We got out of Herbology a half hour early so we can go meet the students of Beauxbaton and Durmstrang at the front of the castle like we were told. We follow the swarm of students running through the corridors to see them.

"I wonder if they are anything like us?" Emma says.

"What do you mean anything like us? Course they're like us. We are all wizards after all." Fred says back to her. Recently Fred and Emma have been acting more flirty with each other but the rest of us don't think it would be wise to say anything about it.

"I just mean, maybe they do lessons differently, or speak differently."

George laughs at Emma and Fred bickering behind us. "Out of all the things Hogwarts has thrown at us over the past few years, this one takes the cake." George says to me.

"Yeah cause this one you have to volunteer to die, the other ones just killed whoever they wanted." I say back to him.

"You're not still pressed about me wanting to compete are you?"

We walk outside and stand around the castle entrance. George hugs me and we stand like that looking out watching for the other schools, "Course I'm still annoyed. I know that you're doing this because you need the money to start up your joke shop and I fully get and support that. But I dunno, a part of me feels like you'd rather win a crap ton of money than spend the rest of your life with me you know?"

I'm a few inches shorter than George which means my head can perfectly rest on his shoulder, I can feel him take a few big breaths before he speaks, "Don't think like that Violet. Once we are out of here, you'll come live with me and Fred at the flat we are going to build above the shop. Then in a few years we'll get married and have a bunch of kids. This is just going to be one of the stories we tell them."

I move so I can look George in the eye, "A bunch of kids?"

George chuckles to himself, "I always wanted a big family of my own, maybe not as big as mine but big enough."

"Blacks very rarely have more than three kids." I say to him. George looks at me and tilts his head to the side slightly, "But I wouldn't mind raising a gang of Weasleys with you." George smiles and kisses me.

"Did I just hear you two talking about kids?" Fred says appearing beside us out of nowhere, "Bill and Charlie aren't even married yet and you two are over here discussing baby names. Makes me ill just thinking about it."

George and I look at him, he's standing very straight with his hands in his pockets looking out waiting for something to happen. "What's with you recently? I mean your being ruder than usual, and you've been flirting non stop with Emma." George says calling his brother out on his bullshit.

Fred rocks back and forth in his spot, "Oh that? That means nothing. Just a little banter between friends."

"There!" Sixth year Gryffindor Winifred shouts. She jabs her finger above the forest. Something large, extremely large, was hurtling itself through the air towards the castle.

"It's a dragon!" Someone screams.

"Don't be stupid, it's a flying house!" Another one shouts.

It was neither. When the flying object gets closer to the lights from the castle we can see it's a hideously blue, size of a small house, horse drawn carriage. The horses are winged, obviously, and about the size of elephants.

"Bloody hell." Emma says coming up beside me. A few of the students up ahead duck for cover as the carriage lowers itself and lands on the field to our right. The golden horses stamp their feet and roll their massive heads like they are stretching.

"That's a big woman." Walter says from behind us. Sure enough a little boy in a pale blue outfit dashes out of the way of an enormous woman. She steps down from her carriage and Dumbledore starts to clap, all of us follow his lead.

"My dear Madame Maxime!" He says loudly so we can all hear him, "Welcome to Hogwarts!"

The woman steps up to Dumbledore, "Dumbly-dorr." She says, her voice is very deep and she has a very thick French accent.

"Look behind her." Lee whispers. Sure enough about a dozen or so students have emerged from the carriage behind Madame Maxime. They're wearing powder blue silk robes, the same colour as their carriage. Each of them shivering in the cold October air.

"Violet! Violet oh my god!" Emma grabs onto my arm and pulls it in excitement.

"What?" I say to her smiling.

Emma points at a boy in the far back of the group. He's very tall, very muscular, and what I can tell, very handsome. "That's him! That's my French beau! Oh my god I can't believe he's here and I look like this!" She wails.

Madame Maxine pushes past us and goes into the castle, her students follow. Emma hides her face in my shoulder when her French lover boy passes by so he doesn't notice her. Fred however, notices everything and I can tell that there's a twinge of jealousy on his face. The perks of dating an identical twin? They tend to use the same expressions, and right now Fred looks just like George does when Cedric is around. Just banter between friends my ass.

"Can you hear something?" Ron says suddenly. Everyone starts looking around, most of them staring at the sky expecting the same entrance from the Durmstrang students.

"The Lake!" Lee shouts, "Look at the Lake!"

Everyone does as he says and turns to the lake. Bubbles start coming up to the surface in the middle of the lake, waves start to splash violently against the shore, "Did they swim here?" Walter asks.

A whirlpool appears in the middle of the lake, and a long thin wooden rod comes out the center of it.

"It's a mast!" Harry shouts. Sure enough, a great big ship rises slowly to the surface. It looks as if it has been on the bottom of the lake for centuries but it is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my entire life.

Big, bulky figures are seen disembarking from the ship, "Merlin's beard, they came prepared." I look at Fred and George, they're both rather fit but they are also very scrawny boys, "You sure you still want to compete with the likes of them?" I say, pressing their buttons.

As they got closer we notice that most of the bulk are just big, heavy, fur cloaks. Their headmaster comes up and shakes Dumbledore's hand, "How are you, my dear fellow?" He says.

"Blooming, thank you Professor Karkaroff." Dumbledore says to him clapping both of his hands around Professor Karkaroff's one.

"How good it is to be here, how good... Viktor come along, into the warmth. You don't mind do you Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold..."

A student comes up from behind Professor Karkaroff and everyone stops talking, "Holy shit..." Walter whispers.

"You're fucking joking." George mumbles.

"Still sure about wanting to compete there boys?" I say to the twins and Lee.

None other than Viktor Krum steps into the light and looks around at us all. He looks at me and smiles politely and Emma nearly faints.

"Viktor fucking Krum!" Lee whispers.


	87. Part 4, Chapter 14

We all go into the great hall and take our seats for the feast. The students from Beauxbaton have taken up at the Ravenclaw table whereas the students from Durmstrang have decided to sit at the Slytherin table.

Draco flags me down and I take my friends hands in my own and walk over to him. Draco shoves Crabbe and Goyle out of the way and I sit beside my cousin. My friends beside me, Viktor Krum in front of me.

"Viktor, this is my cousin Violet LeStrange," Draco says introducing us to one another.

Viktor takes my hand and kisses my knuckles gently, "A pleasure." He says. His voice is a lot deeper than I would have thought it would be, his accent is thick.

"These are my friends, Emma Fay, and Walter Clarence. We are excited to have you here this year." I say. Viktor takes Emma's hand and kisses it the same way he did to me, he shakes Walter's hand firmly.

"These are my friends, Naiden Bekirski, Varban Granov, and Ivan Tanchovski," Viktor says pointing down the line. Each of them are very buff, very handsome. Naiden has a dark complexion with a very strong jaw and short curly hair, Varban is the smallest of the three but still bigger than any Hogwarts boy I've seen. He has a large nose and small eyes, his hair is dark brown and shaved nearly all the way off. Ivan is the palest of the lot. He's got ice-blue eyes with hair nearly as pale as Draco's.

"Are you zree entering in ze competition?" Viktor asks us. Food appears across the table and we start to eat.

"I'm still sixteen, my birthday is at the end of May." I say. I dish out some small roasted potatoes onto my plate and pass the dish to Draco.

"If Violet did compete then she would win without a doubt. Last month she nearly took off one of our professors heads." Walter says. Emma slaps him but Walter doesn't seem phased.

Viktor and his friends all look at me, "You raised your vand at a Professor?" Ivan asks me, his accent just as thick as Viktor's.

"She did it because the crazy old bastard transfigured me into a ferret and threw me in the air." Draco says matter of factly.

"Language Draco." I say sternly. The top of Draco's ears turn red and he is suddenly interested in the ham that is floating along.

"Maybe I am lucky that you are not of age yet." Viktor says. He winks as he says it which makes Emma giggle even though he didn't do it to her.

"So will you be in our classes with us?" Emma says, she look carefully at each boy in front of us, clearly trying to figure out which one she's most attracted to.

"Only our Headmaster came with us, ze rest of our Professors are still at Durmstrang. We will have to sit in on your classes." Naiden says. He looks at Emma and smirks, "Will that be a problem?"

Emma chokes on her pumpkin juice, "Not at all." She says sweetly.

"I have to say, your castle is vonderful. So large! Durmstrang is only four floors tall. But the grounds are very big and beautiful." Varban says. He keeps looking up at the ceiling that is mimicking the sky outside.

"You must have many secret places where you have parties no?" Viktor asks.

"Course we do! We have parties all the time in our-" Draco starts

I roll my eyes and the Durmstrang boys laugh cutting Draco's sentence off, "We have our fun. Might just have to plan something now that we have guests." I say.

When the food vanishes off the tables we all look at the stage to see Dumbledore stand up at the podium and raise his hand for silence. The room takes a minute but sure enough everyone quiets down. There's an exciting tension that's running through the hall. Everyone on the edge of their seats waiting to hear what Dumbledore is going to say about the Triwizard tournament now that dinner is over.

"The moment has come!" Dumbledore says loudly, "The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket-"

"Did he say casket?" Emma wipers.

"Just to clarify the procedure which we will be following this year. But firstly, let me introduce, for those of you who do not know them, Mister Bartemius Crouch, head of the department of international magical co-operation..." There was a polite applause throughout the hall, "and Mister Ludo Bagman, head of the department of magical games and sports."

There was a lot bigger round of applause for Ludo Bagman, especially from Fred and George. George told me that they won a bet with him and he gave them fifty galleons each because of it. "Mister Bagman and Mister Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard tournament and will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime on the panel which will judge the champions efforts."

The word champion rang throughout the hall and nearly everyone took a sharp breath in. Dumbledore notices this of course and smiles out at us all, "The casket if you please Mister Filch." Filch comes stalking out of the corner, holding a big wooden chest, it looks older than the castle itself.

"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mister Crouch and Mister Bagman." Dumbledore says as Filch places the chest carefully on the table that is set up in front of him. "And have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced out throughout the school year, magical prowess-their daring- their powers of deduction- and of course, their ability to cope with danger."

At this point, it sounds like no one is even breathing. I look around the room and everyone's eyes are fixed on Dumbledore unblinking. I look past Viktor and his friends and smile. George is staring up at Dumbledore like a kid on Christmas. My heart swells and some how I manage to fall more in love with him.

"As you know, three champions compete in the tournament." Dumbledore continues, "one from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they preform each of the tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector... The goblet of fire." Dumbledore takes out his wand and taps it three times on the top of the wooden box that Filch has brought out moments ago. The lid pops open and Dumbledore reaches inside and pulls out a large wooden cup.

"That's it...?" Emma whispers. When Dumbledore sets it down on the top of the now closed box, bright blue flames shoot out of the top of the cup and stay lit.

"That's it." Walter whispers back at her.

Dumbledore looks out at all of our excited faces once again and smiles, "Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet."

"Aspiring champions have twenty four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet of fire will be placed in the entrance hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete."

"To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation." Dumbledore says. He looks directly at the Weasley twins, "I will be drawing an age line around the goblet of fire once it has been placed in the entrance hall. No body under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line." After a few more announcements of basically the same thing we were all dismissed from our tables and told to head off to bed. George, Fred, and Lee come over to us but I know they just want to meet Viktor Krum.

"Viktor, these are our other friends." I say to him, "My boyfriend George Weasley." I point at George and he smiles.

"Boyfriend? Pleasure to meet you." Viktor shakes George's hand.

"His twin brother Fred Weasley."

"Pleasure."

"And Walters boyfriend Lee Jordan."

"Pleasure."

The three boys stand there awkwardly looking at Viktor. "We saw you play in the world cup. A fantastic game truly. George and I play on our house team." Fred says.

"Ah, you're fans." Viktor says looking rather annoyed at the whole situation. Freds eyes go wide. "Fans are nice to have and thank you for your support. It would just be nice to meet people vho don't want my autograph."

The twins flush red and Lee stammers over an apology. Professor Karkaroff comes over and nods at Viktor and his friends. "Ve must be off back to our boat. Ve vill see you tomorro'." Ivan says. The Durmstrang boys excuse themselves and George let's out a big breath.

"Did that really just happen?" He says watching Viktor Krum walk off with his other classmates.

"Did we really just watch you three completely embarrass yourselves in front of a famous quidditch player? Yeah, yeah we did." Emma says.

I step over to George and hug him against me, he slumps into my touch. "It's alright Georgie, you'll have all year to try and become his friend." George groans and Emma, Walter, and I burst into laughter. "Who knows, you might have to end up killing him in the tournament."

George lets go of me and looks at my face smiling, "So you're not mad about me wanting to compete anymore?"

"Ahh I can't stay mad at you."


	88. Part 4, Chapter 15

Now normally on a Saturday, everyone eats breakfast late. But today is different. Emma wakes me up at seven in the morning and she and I head out to the entrance hall to see who will put their name in the goblet. I wrap my silk, black house robe around me tightly as we walk through the corridors.

"I wonder if Elliott will remember me," Emma says.

We turn out of the dungeons and instantly we can hear the chattering of students around the goblet. "Who the bloody hell is Elliott?" I say loudly

The boy from Beauxbaton that Emma pointed out last night turns from the goblet and looks over at us, "Zat would be moi, Elliott Martin." The boy says. Emma swats me and mumbles 'look what you've done now' under her breath.

"Violet LeStrange." I say putting my hand out towards him, "Welcome to Hogwarts." Elliott shakes my hand carefully, his other Beauxbaton friends are standing behind him watching this awkward encounter. "This is my friend..."

"Sacrebleu! Emma Fay is zat you?" Elliott pushes past me and stands in front of Emma, "I never would 'ave thought I'd see you again! You told me you go to 'Ogwarts but I..."

Emma smiles and brushes her hair behind her ear. "It's good to see you Elliott." Emma and Elliot walk away from the goblet to catch up on life. I sit down beside Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"How many people have put their names in?" I ask looking at the trio.

"All the Durmstrang folks so far, and a few Beauxbatons. No one from Hogwarts yet. Speaking of Hogwarts, you are aware that your idiot boyfriend is going to try and put his name in right?" Hermione says to me.

"Course I know. He hasn't shut up about it." Almost as if he knew we were talking about him. Fred, George, and Lee come racing down the stairs smiling from ear to ear.

"We've done it boys, fixed it up this morning!" Fred says happily. A few Hogwarts students cheer and clap along with their excitement.

"Violet kiss me." George says. He plops down on the bench beside me and kisses me hard and quick, "Do I feel any older to you?" He smirks.

"Mmhmm I don't think so, best we try again." I say. I put my hand on the back of his neck and pull him towards me for another kiss, this one longer and more passionate.

"Ugh gross." Ron says behind us. George pulls away, looks at me, pecks my lips again and stands up and goes over to Fred.

"What have you done exactly?" Ron asks his brothers.

"An ageing potion dumbass." Fred says to him

"One drop each, we only have to be a few month older." George says. He rubs his hands together and winks at me.

"It's not going to work you know. I'm sure Dumbledore will have thought of this." Hermione says rolling her eyes.

"If it works then great, if not... I want to see what happens." I say to her.

Fred pulls a slip of paper out of his pocket, "Ready? Come on then, I'll go first." Fred walks up to the line, everyone watching in a mixture of hope and horror. Fred steps over the line and George hollers. He jumps over the line too.

"Holy shit." Ron says watching his brothers in awe.

"I can't believe that worked..." Lee says.

BANG!

Both twins are thrown out of the circle in a shower of golden light. They land in a heap ten feet away absolutely dumbfounded. Lee looks at me and we both start howling with laughter. A loud popping noise rings throughout the entrance hall. We all look over at the twins who have lost their red hair and now have grey hair, to match their grey beards. Wrinkles are covering their faces.

"I'm gonna piss myself." Lee says scream laughing. Lee holds onto the wall for support. I wipe tears our of my eye from laughing so hard.

Fred and George stand up and look at each other, "You don't age very gracefully do you Fred?" George says stroking his beard. I snort and laugh even harder than I was.

George comes over to me, "Give some sugar to granddad Violet." He says. He puts his hands out for a hug and dramatically puckers up his lips.

"Oh my god no!" I scream. I get up from my seat and put Lee in between George and I which doesn't to much because he's doubled over in laughter.

"I did warn you." A deep, very amused voice comes from behind us, we turn around and see Dumbledore standing there looking at us all with a twinkle in his eye. "I suggest you two both go up to Madam Pomfrey. She is already tending to Miss Fawcett of Ravenclaw and Mister Summers of Hufflepuff both of whom decided to age themselves up a bit as well. Though I must say, neither of them have beards quite as good as yours."

George takes my hand and we head up the stairs to the hospital wing. Draco was allowed to leave the hospital for dinner last night but he was brought right back into Madam Pomfrey's hospital at night.

Lee goes to make fun of George and Fred more while I go and sit beside Draco's bed. "How you feeling hot shot?" I ask him.

Draco smiles and looks at me, "It's been good yeah. Hey, did you leave me that last night?" He nods at the chocolate frog and the box of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans on the table beside him.

I pick up the candies and look at the packaging, half expecting a note or something attached to them, "No, I haven't brought any candy with me, and we haven't been to Hogsmeade yet."

Draco takes the candy out of my hand and pulls open the chocolate frog. He breaks it in half and gives me a piece. "Well doesn't your boyfriend have that map with all the passages you told me about last summer?"

I bite into the chocolate, "No he doesn't have that anymore..." My mind wanders, the twins gave the Marauders map to Harry Potter last year... but Harry couldn't have left these for Draco... unless he did?

Draco waves his hand in front of my face, "Violet? Did you even hear a word I just said?"

I blink a few times and look at him, "No not at all, what did you say?"

Draco rolls his eyes, "I said, who has the map now then?"

"I dunno..."

"Liar."

Draco and I look at each other for a long time, "Fine. I'll figure it out myself then." I hear a loud crash and Lee shriek with laughter. "Who the hell was that?"

I laugh and pop a jelly bean into my mouth... rotten milk, lovely. I spit it out in a tissue and Draco gags. He's got a thing about vomit. "It was Fred, George, and Lee. Fred and George thought they could trick Dumbledore's age line and get their names in the goblet."

"Idiots."

"I know."

I stay with Draco for the rest of the day. Madam Pomfrey says that he should be fine to go back into the general population of the school as long as I look out for any signs that his brain is damaged. By the time the dinner bell rings I'm squished into the same bed as Draco and we are talking about whether or not nose biting tea cups are a worthwhile invention or not.

"Vi? Dinners on, you coming or...?" Lee says as he comes over to the bed that Draco and I are on.

I sit up and look at him, "Yeah definitely. I have to make sure this blithering idiot gets down the stairs alright first so I'll see you lot later." Lee nods and goes back to the twins who are now back to their red headed, beardless selves. I hit Draco's stomach with my palm and he groans, "Get up, I'm starving."

I hop off the bed and extend my hand for Draco to take. He swats it away and stands up by himself. He grabs all the garbage from the candies we've been eating and tosses them into the fire place before we head out of the hospital wing together.


	89. Part 4, Chapter 16

Violet!? Where the fuck have you been!" Emma shouts when she sees Draco and I walk into the great hall. Draco goes to sit with his friends.

I sit down beside Walter and he hits my shoulder with his, "Oh thank god you're here." He says. I smile and scrunch up my nose.

"Violet pay attention! I spent the entire day with Elliott and I didn't like feel anything! I was too busy thinking of someone else!" Emma wails, "And Elliott is perfect like he's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my entire life and I was like in love in love with him a few summers ago and now he's here for an entire year and I feel nothing!"

Walter rolls his eyes and passes her a platter full of buns. Emma looks at him like he's just slapped her grandmother, "I can't eat in a time like this! I'm in mortal peril!"

I take the platter from Walter instead and grab a bun so I can dip it in my stew. "Alright then, who were you thinking of?"

Emma looks at us both, "You'll make fun of me." She says.

Walter puts his spoon down and gives Emma his full attention, "When have I ever made fun of you?" He says seriously.

"Not you, Violet. She's got a mean streak."

I scoff and roll my eyes, "Only kidding Violet you know I love you." Emma says. She grabs my head and kisses my cheek.

"Alright so are you going to tell us who you were thinking of while you were with Frenchie?" I ask.

"I was thinking of Fred. Which doesn't make a lick of sense because I don't feel anything towards him either. At least I don't think I do. Not like he feels anything for me, all he does is talk about Angelina. 'oh she's such a fantastic flyer' or 'she's got a good bum, have you noticed?" Emma does her best impression of Fred which sends Walter and I into a fit of laughter.

"It's not funny! I'm stuck in a love triangle!" She wails. A few boys from Durmstrang look over at us.

"Fred's been talking about Angelina since the day I met him." Walter says, he fills his bowl with a second helping of stew which confuses me because I can't figure out how he ate so fast. Teenage boys I guess. "Elliott seems like a great guy. Maybe you should just spend more time with him."

"But at the same time, Elliott is only here for a year so it might not be worth the effort." I dip my bun into my stew, "Buuut, he's also only here for a year so you matter make the most of it." I say. Walter points his spoon at me and nods in agreement.

"You two are no help at all." Emma groans.

Walter's eyes light up, "You know what you need? Amortentia."

"I know you're joking but that might actually help a lot."

Filch stumbles through the door heaving the goblet of fire through the gaps between the tables, its then that I remember that they still have to pull the names for the champions.

"I heard Angelina added her name earlier today. Cassius entered his name as well." Walter says.

"Cedric entered his as well, dunno if anyone from Ravenclaw entered." Emma says peering over at the table on the other side of the room.

"Course no one from Ravenclaw entered, that house is full of the smartest people at Hogwarts. You really think that they are going to compete in something like this?"

"So the competitors are not smart?" Someone with a very thick Bulgarian accents asks from my left. I wince and turn to see Viktor Krum who is now sitting beside me, "I think the competitors are very smart and brave. Unlike your boyfriend and his brother... they turned themselves into old men earlier today no?"

Emma snorts and Walter hides his laugh with a cough, "Yeah that was them. Never said they were smart either." I say, Viktor smiles down at his food. "How has Hogwarts been treating you so far?"

"Lots of Hogvarts girls have been following me and my friends all over the grounds. It's sort of annoying."

Emma, who still is refusing to eat because of her 'love triangle' looks down the line at Viktor, "Any girls you find interesting?"

Viktor laughs and fills his bowl with stew, "Not many. One in the lion house maybe but ve have only been here for a day."

I look back at Emma and she nods a few times, "I have a question Viktor. If you had the chance to date someone you had history with for a year but then probably never see them again would you? Or would you chase after someone who fancies someone else, but that person goes to your school and you are friends with them?"

"Oh dear lord not this again." Walter groans.

Viktor takes a bite of his stew and chews it for a moment, "I vould chose the one I saw myself being vith for a long time. Sorry if that's no help."

"I vould chose the one I vould only be vith for a year." Ivan says, suddenly joining in on our conversation, "Vhat is better than being vith someone for a short but very passionate time?" Ivan winks at Emma but she's not having it today.

"Why is everything so difficult." She groans.

Walter scoops the last bit of his second bowl of stew up, "Well the Triwizard Tournament might make it easy on you. Your other guy might end up dead and Fred'll be the one by default. Cause he'd be the only one alive and all."

"You're disgusting!" Emma shrieks. She takes a bun off of the platter and throws it at Walter, he catches it in his mouth and bites down on it hard.

"Your friend Valter has a point Emma." Viktor says. I burst out laughing and Emma crosses her arms over herself and huffs.

The golden plates clear themselves and the room goes quiet in anticipation from whats about to happen. Dumbledore stands up from his seat and walks slowly to the podium that is set up beside the goblet of fire.

'This is the slowest I've ever seen this man walk." Walter whispers.

"Good luck Viktor." I say smiling at him. He turns to me and nods before giving Dumbledore his full attention again.

"Well! The goblet is almost ready to make its decision!" Dumbledore says, "I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions names are called, I would ask them to please come up to the top of the hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber." Dumbledore points at the door that is behind the staff table so we can all see, "where they will be receiving their first instructions."

"I've got shivers and my name isn't even in the that thing." Emma gasps. Dumbledore takes out his wand and dramatically waves it overtop of his head. Instantly, all the candles, besides the ones that are in the carved pumpkins are extinguished.

The goblet of fire is the brightest thing in the whole room. The Gryffindor students start to bang their hands on the table as loud and as fast as they can. Soon every other house is doing the same thing, waiting, watching the goblet.

The blue flames get taller, then they turn a bright shade of red. Everyone stops banging on their tables and holds their breath. A tongue of fire shot out of the goblet and a charred piece of parchment flutters out. The crowd gasps. Dumbledore plucks it out of the air and reads it to himself first.

"The champion for Durmstrang!" He calls. Viktor tenses up beside me along with all the other Durmstrang students sitting at the Slytherin table, "will be..." Dumbledore loves his dramatic pauses, "Viktor Krum!"

The room breaks out into cheers, the Durmstrang students who weren't called look very disappointed but they clap and cheer along with the rest of us as Viktor steps away from the table and awkwardly walks up to the teachers table. The cheering doesn't stop till he disappears into the other chamber.

"The lucky bastard." Varban says.

The room goes dead silent again, everyone watching as the goblet turns bright red again, spitting out another piece of burnt parchment. "The champion for Beauxbatons..." Dumbledore reads the name over again, "Is... Fleur Delacour!"

Cheers erupt from the crowd again. A beautiful girl with long silver hair stands from the Ravenclaw table and gracefully weaves her way through the students and up to the teachers table. I look over at where she came from and notice that all the other Beauxbaton students are furious that they weren't chosen.

"Great sportsmanship from your French boy eh Em?" Walter says. Emma looks over where Walter and I are looking and she sees Elliott pound on the table in anger.

"Yikes." Emma mumbles.

Fleur Delacour slips into the chamber that Viktor is waiting in and the room goes silent again.

The goblet of fire once again turns red and shoots out the last and final name, the Hogwarts champion.

"I hope it's Cassius." Walter whispers.

"Ew I don't. We wouldn't hear the end of it." I whisper back.

Dumbledore snatches the parchment out of the air, "And the Hogwarts champion is..." He pauses for longer on this one because he knows how much we all want to hear who it is, "Cedric Diggory!"

I have never seen Hufflepuff more excited before in my entire six years at Hogwarts. They all jump to their seats and scream so loud the floor shakes. Everyone else joins in as Cedric moves through the crowd and back into the room where everyone it going. It takes a long while for everyone to calm down again.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore cries when the room is quiet enough to do so. "Well, we now have our three champions. And I'm sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang to give your champion every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on."

I zone out what Dumbledore is saying, the goblet beside him flares up again, turning the same bright red as it's done before.

"Vhat is happening?" Naiden asks us, like we have an answer to that.

"This can't be happening, it's the Triwizard tournamnent not the four-wizard tournament." Walter says trying to be funny.

The goblet spits out another slip of parchment, Dumbledore snatches it out of the air faster than he did any other ones. He stands there in silence as he reads it to himself probably over a hundred times, then I can see his mouth move but I can't hear him from this far away. He finally says it loud enough for everyone to head, "Harry Potter!"


	90. Part 4, Chapter 17

"Merlins beard here we go again." Emma sighs, "Just one year. One year without..."

"Harry Potter!" Dumbledore shouts again, "Harry! Up here if you please!"

Emma doesn't even bother to finish her sentence. We all watch was small little fourteen-year-old Harry Potter walks away from his friends and up to the teacher's table. He walks as if he's going to hurt the floorboard underneath his feet.

When Harry gets to Dumbledore no one claps, no one breathes. "Well, into that door Harry," Dumbledore says he's not smiling this time round. Mister Crouch and Mister Bagman chase after Harry into the room. "Everyone back to your common rooms before curfew please!" Dumbledore says loudly before he turns away and goes back to the teachers.

Dumbledore, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxine discuss together for a minute. No one in the great hall moves a single muscle.

"Durmstrang! Follow the Slytherins into their common room and I will come and collect you later!" Professor Karkaroff shouts. Madame Maxine tells her students to go into the Ravenclaw common room and the three headmasters practically race each other to the door that all the champions went into.

Emma, Walter, and I excuse ourselves and meet up with Fred, George, and Lee. "How did Harry get his name in when you lot were tossed halfway across the school?" I ask when we get to them.

Fred and George look at each other and shrug, "Not a clue but I wish he would have told us how he did it." Fred says.

"Is anyone just really tired of Harry Potter? Like everyone was so impressed with him surviving the Dark Lord's attack or whatever but now he just ruins our school year." Emma says. We all laugh and head out of the great hall.

"Want to sneak out tonight?" George whispers in my ear. Our friends are talking loudly about the first challenge leaving George and I behind a ways.

I turn around and look at him, "I dunno. I have a transfiguration practical soon and I can't get the spell non verbally. You can help me if you want."

George rests his hands on my hips, "You don't have transfiguration till Thursday, I'm sure we can take an hour for ourselves."

I raise my eyebrows and smirk at him, "An hour eh? You think highly of yourself."

George pulls me closer to him, "I've learned a few things since our last time."

My eyes go wide, "Who have you been practicing with?" I tease, fully knowing that if George ever brought a different girl into his house I would have eight letters from each Weasley telling me what they saw.

George's ears go bright pink and his face flushes, "No practicing, just... research..."

I laugh and put my head on George's shoulder, trying to hide how red my face is. "I can't believe you just said that to me." I say my voice muffled in his robes.

"I just asked Bill for some tips? Charlie was absolutely useless all he talked about was his stupid dragons. I mean honestly what's the point in having older brothers if they can't give you tips and things."

The idea of George sitting down in Molly's living room talking to Bill about sex tips makes me laugh. "I'll see. But I really should be studying."

George nods and kisses my forehead, "I love you." He says softly.

I don't think I'll ever be used to hearing him say that, butterflies fill my stomach and I smile involuntarily, "I love you too."

We part ways and I head down into the dungeons and into my common room. Draco is complaining loudly about Harry Potters champion title.

"Dumbledore said like a hundred times that you have to be seventeen to compete! But perfect little Potter can do whatever he wants." He's back to his loud and whiny self that's for sure.

"Not like I would ever let you enter yourself into something like that." I say coming up behind him.

All of Draco's friends stop talking almost immediately, they all look at me terrified. "Father would love it if I won something like the Triwizard tournament. Imagine how proud he would be of me."

"And imagine how upset your mother would be if Dumbledore sent you home in a matchbox. Nearly sent you home in a pet cage last month."

Blaise and Pansy snort and Draco turns and stares at them. "You can't tell me that its totally unfair that Potter is competing."

"Never said it was fair, just said you're never allowed to compete." Draco groans and I ruffle his hair, "don't stay up too late."

"Yeah you neither." He says to me. I go into my dorm and change into something more comfortable than my school robes.

Clarissa comes into the room and looks at me, "Heard your boyfriend got tossed halfway across the school because he thought he could trick Dumbledore's age line." She says to me.

I put my slippers on, "Yeah." I pull my hair up onto the top of my head and fight with it to get it into a half decent looking bun, "He and his brother used an ageing potion."

It gets awkward and quiet. I finish with my hair and look at her through my mirror, "Was that it?"

Clarissa nods, "Yeah that was it." And throws herself on top of her bed and pulls out some parchment and one of her textbooks.

I roll my eyes and take the things I need to study transfiguration and head back into the common room. Emma and Walter are sitting in their comfy clothes talking with the Durmstrang boys Naiden, Varban, and Ivan.

"This is a lot bigger than our dorms. My house dorm is half the size." Ivan says. I sit down beside Walter and put my books on the table in the middle of us.

"What house are you in?" Emma asks him.

"Ve don't have houses at Durmstrang. Ve feel that it segregates the students too much." Ivan says.

"Not that Hogvarts is segregating their students of course. The idea of houses makes it seem like there are different kinds of vizards and vitches. Durmstrang only allows pure vizards anyvays so there's no need to separate." Naiden says adding onto what Ivan was explaining.

"I personally like the idea of having houses. It creates a family bond vhen you are avay from your families for so long." Varban says, "I vish I had a house that vas full of my friends."

"So... if you don't have houses, where do you sleep?" Emma says. She loves finding out how the wizarding community functions all over the world so learning about another wizarding school is her idea of a fantastic day.

"Vell ve sleep in a room vith the other boys in our year. The girls sleep in a room vith the other girls in their year. Ve have a very small student population because ve only allow pure families and there aren't that many left." Ivan explains.

Walter is clearly uncomfortable with the idea of an only pure blood school. I try to change the subject but the boys just keep talking. "I don't like that ve don't let half blood vizards into the school. It's vrong to do that to people." Naiden says.

The other two boys nod along with Naiden's statement, "Very few students at Durmstrang think that it should only be pure families. Everyone else thinks that it should be like Hogvarts or Beauxbaton."

The common room door opens and Snape and Professor Karkaroff come in, "Durmstrang students come with me, back to the boat." Professor Karkaroff says. Ivan, Naiden, and Varban excuse themselves politely and follow their headmaster out of the common room.

"No houses? Imagine Hogwarts without houses! No pressure, no bullying, no thinking that all Slytherins are bad. We would just be people." Emma sighs, she leans back into the couch and pulls her knees up to her chin.

"Imagine the chaos though. Durmstrang is so small compared to Hogwarts." I say. I grab my transfiguration book off the table and open it to cauldron cakes to cabbage.


	91. Part 4, Chapter 18

The next couple of days all the school talked about was Potter. You either loved him or you hated him there was no in-between. Personally, I was pretty impressed with the whole situation.

"Violet!" Draco shouts at me in the common room Wednesday morning before breakfast.

Emma rolls her eyes and heads out to the great hall whispering about seeing me later. "Dray I gotta go, after breakfast I have apparition and I don't want to be late."

Draco shoves his hand into his robe pocket and pulls out a circle thing, "I made these here." He puts it into my hand. "Wear it around school. Show your support for the real Hogwarts champion."

I look at what he put in my hand. It's a button that says 'SUPPORT CEDRIC DIGGORY THE REAL HOGWARTS CHAMPION' in bright red lettering "Bloody hell Draco. Can't you cut the boy some slack?"

Draco rolls his eyes. "Press it." I do as he says and the button changed to a bright green that says 'POTTER STINKS'. "I worked on them for a whole week, I'm going to give them to as many people that'll take them. I'm sure every Hufflepuff is going to want their hands on one of these."

"Draco is this really necessary?" I want to be annoyed with him I really do but the fact that he spent so long making buttons to show just how much he hates Harry makes me laugh.

"Course it is! The whole school is mad at him, he broke the rules again and he hasn't gotten punished for it. You'll wear it right Violet?"

I hesitate and Draco takes that as a no, "Fine then, don't support your cousin, your brother as he tries to do something he's passionate about." He throws his hands in the air huffs.

"God Draco don't get your panties in a twist." I pin the badge to the front of my sweater vest. "Happy now?"

Draco beams, "Thrilled." He pecks my cheek as a goodbye and goes back to his friends, all of who are wearing the buttons he's made.

I walk into the great hall and nearly everyone but the Gryffindors are wearing Draco's badges. I sit down with my friends and each of them are wearing a badge too, "Crabbe came up to us and practically forced us to take these things. Draco really spent a week on these things instead of his school work?" Emma says looking down at her pin.

"You know Draco, humiliating Harry Potter is his number one priority." I pour myself a bowl of cereal. After breakfast the sixth years taking Apparition stay back and watch as Dumbledore stacks the tables and benches to the side to make room for all of us.

"You're wearing one of those badges too?" Fred says coming up to us all.

"Draco made them, I have to support the idiot." I shrug.

The instructor, Wilkie Twycross comes marching into the room ready to get things started. "Good morning everyone! Good morning! Splendid day we are having don't you agree! Everyone please hop into an empty white circle."

Fred winks at Emma and Walter and I look at each other with our eye brows raised. We find six circles near each other. George looks at me and does stupid finger guns at me.

"As we discussed last time we met, Apparition follows three basic rules, also known as the three D's." Mister Twycross says.

"You know what I call the three D's" Ravenclaw student Fiona says on the other side of the room, "A great Saturday night."

Everyone in the room starts laughing and hollering. Mister Twycross rubs his face with both of his hands, "Focus people focus!"

Mister Twycross goes on to explain the three D's of Apparition and soon we are popping in and out of spaces trying to travel from one side of the room to the other. "And remember! As you spin, imagine the hoop across the room! Imagine yourself in the hoop!"

"My imagination is not that strong." Lee shouts. I turn and look at him and he's just flailing his arms in the air, spinning in fast circles.

"Freddie! Bet I can get across the room before you can!" George calls. The twins spin around at the same time and both of them disappear in a big pop and end up on the other side of the room.

"Ha! I win!" Fred shouts.

"Did not!"

"Oh I most certainly did!"

The twins spin around again and appear back on this side of the room. "Violet, my beautiful, smart, loving, hot, girlfriend. Who got to the other side of the room first?" George coos.

"Oh ho ho, I don't think so! Buttering up your girlfriend so she says that you won? Violet we were friend first! I was the one that offered you that seat six years ago!" Fred says.

I roll my eyes and block the two bickering boys out so I can focus on appirating to the other side of the room. I take a deep breath and close my eyes. I picture the other side of the room, how it would look, I imagine the circle, where I want to end up. I take another breath and as I breathe out I spin in my spot. I lose all sensation in my body except a ringing in my ears. When I open my eyes I'm looking at the twins from the other side of the room.

I was over the moon excited, it actually worked! Then I felt a sharp pain in my left hand. I don't dare look down at it, instead I look at my friends on the other side of the room. "I can't look" Emma groans. Fred looks like he's going to be sick, George looks horrified.

"Mister Twycross!" Walter shouts, "Violet's been splinched!"

That's when I start to freak out. I look down at my left hand, I only have three fingers, blood is dripping down onto the ground. My head starts pounding and I fall to the floor. The last thing I hear is "Violet!" Before everything around me goes dark.

When I wake up I'm in the hospital wing with a massive headache.

"Can't believe she splinched herself." I can hear Emma say. "I thought it was going to be one of you idiots."

"Oi!" Fred and George say at the same time.

"Violet? Are you here?" I can hear Draco say from a little further away than everyone else.

I open my eyes slowly, the bright light coming from the open windows hurt my head. "Oh shit she's awake." Lee says.

"Not so loud Jordan. Being splinched fucking hurts." I groan.

Draco comes over and Fred and George both awkwardly step back from the bed I'm in so that Draco can come see me, "Hey idiot." He says.

"Hey, why aren't you in class?" I ask him

"They pulled me out, told me that my dumbass cousin splinched herself. It's not that bad though." Draco looks at my bandaged hand.

"I'm missing Defense Against the Dark Arts." I groan and sit up more in my bed despite all of my friends saying I really shouldn't do that. "Madam Pomfrey? Am I good to go? I have a class!"

"Violet be reasonable. You need some rest." George says. He comes back over to me and kisses my forehead.

"I need to keep up with my classes." I say back to him, "Madam Pomfrey!" I shout.

Madam Pomfrey comes round the corner and looks at me, "Miss LeStrange, you've been her maybe for three hours. That's not nearly enough time to recover..."

"It's not even my dominant hand that is injured. And my friends will help me carry my books and things. Right guys?" I cut Madam Pomfrey off mid sentence and look at George, Fred, and Walter who are all in my Defense class.

"Yeah course." Walter says, despite the look that George is giving him.

I look back at Madam Pomfrey, "See? They'll take care of me. I'm in my sixth year, I have to go to all of my classes." I swing my legs off of the hospital bed and stand up. I close my eyes because I get really dizzy for a moment but it doesn't last very long.

"Miss LeStrange..."

I put my hand up and Madam Pomfrey stops talking. "Draco grab my school bag for me." He does what he's told. He comes back and gives it to me and I hike it over my shoulder. "See? I'm fine."

Madam Pomfrey, clearly not in the mood to argue with me lets me leave the hospital wing and go off to class.

"You're mad you know that? You lost two fingers than had them reattached and you still want to go to class?" George says. He kisses my temple as we wait for the staircase to swing back around to the platform we are standing on.

"Why didn't you go to class? Now we are all missing the lesson and no one is taking notes." I say to him

"Violet you were on one side of the room and your fingers were on the other, you really think that any of us would go to class after that?" Walter says. The stairs fall into position and we all skip the first one cause it's a mirage.

"Yeah yeah, alright." I say, Draco struggles to keep up with us cause we are all walking really fast. When we get to the third floor landing I look at Draco and smile, "You can go back to class. I'll see you in the common room tonight."

"Are you sure you're alright?"

I put both my hands on the sides of Draco's face, "I'm good. Unlike you I don't need to stay in the hospital for months after a hippogriff scratched me."

Fred snorts behind me and Draco goes a deep shade of red, "That was a low blow." He says.

I pat his cheek with my good hand, "Head off, you need all the class time you can get especially after wasting all that time on the buttons."

Draco grumbles something under his breath about how it wasn't a waste of time and he heads off back to whatever class he has.

"Alright let's go. No matter how much I want to rip Moodys head off of his shoulders he's a half decent teacher."


	92. Part 4, Chapter 19

"So when I said 'go to class' you heard 'go pick a fight with Potter'?" Draco and I are sitting in the common room on a couch. I overheard him laughing with his friends as they were studying and I managed to catch Blaise saying, "That Hermione girl looks a lot better with those big ugly teeth if you ask me."

"He attacked me Violet what part of that don't you understand?" Draco wails.

I take the pillow from behind me and throw it at him. He laughs and catches it out of the air, "Alright, he attacked you first. Why do I think that you deserved it just a little bit?"

"All I did was show him the badges I've created," Draco says. I press my palms into my eyes and laugh a bit, Draco laughs with me.

"If you spent the same amount of time on your studies as you do on Potter you would be top of your class for sure."

"Well maybe if I liked classes as much as I liked Potter it wouldn't be an issue." Draco instantly claps his hands over his mouth and looks at me with fear in his eyes. "I mean... I well, you know, it's getting late I should really go to bed." Draco stands up from the couch but I grab a hold of his wrist and pull him back down to the couch.

"You like Potter?" I say trying my very hardest not to smile.

Draco rolls his eyes, "No! What kind of question is that! What gave you that idea?"

"Maybe the fact that you just said it?"

"You must have heard me wrong then. Who would ever like Potter?"

"I mean he is the chosen one." I nudge Draco with my shoulder and he cracks a small smile, "You know it's fine if you like him? That's not a bad thing."

Draco scoffs and looks away from me, "I'm not having this conversation with you."

"Did you know that I fancy girls just as much as I fancy guys?" I say to him.

He looks back at me, "Do you actually?"

I nod, "Yeah. I learned that I did in second year after playing a round of spin the bottle with everyone in my year."

Draco doesn't say anything for a really long time. Then, "I'm pretty sure I fancy both girls and boys too."

"Alright then."

Draco wipes his palms off on his pants, "I don't want to tell anyone else though. Not yet I don't think."

"Alright. This will just stay between you and me. Only you can decide when you want to tell people."

Draco looks up from the floor and at my face, "So you won't tell mother and father?"

"Course I won't! Anything you tell me stays between you and me unless it'll put you in danger. I thought you knew that."

"I did... I just, wanted to make sure is all."

I take Draco's hand in mine and smile at him, "You're basically my baby brother Dray, I won't do anything or say anything if you don't want me to." Draco smiles really big this time, "Put please for the sake of my mental stability, stop attacking him and his friends in the hall."

"Can't promise you that." Draco says before heading off back to his friends.

The Saturday before the first task was the first Hogsmeade trip of the year. Even though Aunt Narcissa sent me to Hogwarts with a hundred galleons I don't bother bringing any money to Hogsmeade in my attempts to save up as much as I can for the twins Christmas present. I was going through my trunk the other day and found about twenty galleons, twelve sickles and a handful of knuts that I had left over from last year and I add all that to the pile of money reserved for Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

"Violet let's go we're going to be late!" Emma calls from the entrance to the girls dorms. I put on my long black coat and toss my house scarf over my shoulders before putting on the beret that Emma got me a few years back.

"What's the rush? You have plans or something?" I say when I leave my dorm room.

"Actually yeah sort of. Elliott is going to meet me at the tea shop for some lunch. I hope that's alright." Emma links her arm with mine, careful not to knock my still wounded fingers.

"So you've decided? You're going to spend this year with Elliott?"

Emma nods, "Sort of? I mean I fancy them both but I haven't been able to stop thinking about Fred after our kiss last year. So I'm thinking that if I hang out with Elliott and date him while he's here then Fred will get jealous and ask me out."

"That's the worst idea I've ever heard in my entire life." Emma laughs but I remain serious, "I'm not even joking, that's seriously stupid. Like Alex from Hufflepuff level stupid."

"Well not all of us have the same luck as you Misses 'I told my first ever crush that I liked him four years ago and we've been dating ever since."

When we get into the courtyard we go over to Lee, Walter, Fred, and George. Emma says a quick hello and goodbye before she goes over to Elliott who is smiling brightly and waving her over.

"Where's she off to?" Fred asks watching Emma walk away from us.

"She's got a date with Elliott. They're going to the tea house or something like that." I look at Fred but he's still staring at Emma, who is now being pecked on the cheek by Elliott. "You're not jealous are you?"

Fred snaps his attention to me, "Course I'm not why even say something like that."

I put my hands in the air as a sign of surrender, "If you say so Weasley. I'm not one to judge."

McGonagall makes a quick announcement about god knows what and the big crowd of students head down the path towards Hogsmeade.

George, Lee and Walter are taking bets on the first challenge and what it could possibly be. Fred and I are walking behind him. "George's cheating you know? We got a letter from Charlie two weeks back and he said that Bagman had him prepare four dragons. No doubt for the first task." Fred whispers to me.

"If it's dragons you each owe me two galleons each alright?" George says. The three of them shake on it and Fred and I snort with laughter.

"Can I ask you something? And you have to be honest." I say to Fred.

"Yeah course anything."

I think for a moment as to how I want to word my sentence, "Emma thinks your madly in love with Angelina, she says you never stop talking about her. But I never once heard you say much of anything about her in a long time actually. Do you actually like her?"

Fred looks at me and then at his brother, "If I tell you, you can't tell a single soul. Not even George. This is the one thing he doesn't know about."

"Your secrets safe with me, you'd be surprised with how many Weasley secrets I'm keeping." Referring to Ginny's secret crush on Harry Potter, as well as a few things that George has told me.

"We're going to circle back to that in a second." Fred laughs. "I fancy Emma quite a bit. But I suck at telling people how I feel and shit so I've been talking a lot about Angelina to her so that she gets jealous and asks me out instead."

It feels like my brain is going to explode, "That's the dumbest shit I've ever heard you say and I was around for your 'let's create a new language' phase."

Fred laughs like a proper belly laugh, "Don't judge me! I have trouble communicating and this was the only thing I could think of that would work."

"Oh yeah? And how's it working out for you dumbass? Are you the one with the tea date with her?" Fred groans and I pack his back in a comforting manor.

"Do you know if she actually fancies him?" Fred stops walking and takes my hand so I have to stop walking too, "Like seriously, do you know if I should just stop trying?"

I put both my hands on his shoulders and shake him a bit, "You and her are a lot alike. Neither of you know how to really talk about your actual feelings."

"She seems like she knows how communicate, she's dated people before."

I drop my head, "You're not listening to me. She thinks the same way you do. And that's all I'm going to say because I promised I wouldn't say anything."

I start walking again and Fred jogs up to walk beside me, "She likes me too?"

"I'm not answering that." I say while nodding my head yes.

"And she's doing the same thing that I'm doing? Going out with Elliott to make me jealous?"

"I never said such a thing." I nod my head faster.

Fred flashes that wicked Weasley smirk which tells me that he's thinking something that I am not going to agree with.

"Well two can play that game." Fred says confidently.

"You can't be serious." I say to him.

Fred smiles, "Course I'm serious! I'm not going to lose. Fred Weasley doesn't lose."

"Fred Weasley has lost his mind that's what he's lost."


	93. Part 4, Chapter 20

When we get back to Hogwarts after our Hogsmeade trip I tell Emma what Fred has been doing to get her attention.

"So he's been doing the same thing with Angelina that I've been doing with Elliott? That bastard!" She shrieks. Walter is passed out in an armchair in front of the common room fire so Emma isn't too worried about him overhearing anything.

"Yes! So can you just tell Elliott it's over and stop whatever the hell is going on between you two?"

"Nah."

I stare at her for a solid thirty seconds, no blinking, "What do you mean 'nah' what is wrong with you two."

Emma closes her book and puts her hands in her lap. She straightens her posture and looks at me, "Violet, I do not back down from a fight no matter how big or how small. If Fred wants to fight dirty and try to make me jealous then I'm going to fight the exact same way."

"Oh my god, the two of you are going to kill me."

Emma laughs and pats my knee, "I don't plan on giving him the satisfaction of making me crawl to him and beg for a relationship. He's gotta come to me."

I throw my hands in the air and sink deeper into the couch, "I'm not apart of this anymore." I laugh.

"There's something on your arm Vi." Emma says.

I look at my arm and sure enough there's big black letters appearing down it,

LATE NIGHT ADVENTURE. MEET ME BEHIND THE LAVENDER FIELD PAINTING ASAP

I read it out loud and Emma squeals, "That's so cool that you two have that. Go get changed. Look cute."

I take her advice and go get changed out of my pyjamas and into something more presentable, I don't wear heels though, I put on a pair of comfortable sneakers instead.

"Cover for me if you need to yeah?" I pull one of Molly's sweaters over my head and Emma nods. I put a blanket on top of Walter and wave goodbye to Emma before I head out of the common room and sneak out of the dungeons and into the main hall. I hide behind a big statue of some famous witch or something before I make the dash to the painting.

The lavender field painting is massive canvas that's nearly as tall as me and I'm about 5'11. I pull on the right side of the canvas and it swings off the wall. I slip into the darkness and pull the frame back to its origional place.

"There you are, what took you so long." George hisses in the darkness.

I damn well near jump out of my skin, I pull out my wand and cast Lumos so I can actually see him. "I got changed into something that wasn't my pyjamas."

George looks at me head to toe and breathes out of his nose sharply, "God you're so hot." He steps closer to me in this already very small passage way and pins me against the wall.

"Well are you going to kiss me or are you just going to stare at me?" I whisper.

George moves so his nose brushes against mine. We stand like that for a while breathing each other in. "Fuck it." I whisper. I drop my wand to the ground and grab a hold of George. I put my injured hand on the back of his neck and loop my fingers through his belt loop with the other one. I pull him into me and kiss him. I kiss him to the point where I'm out of breath and I can't think straight.

George pulls away panting slightly, he looks right into my eyes and smiles, "Thank you Bill." He whispers. He bends down and picks my wand up from the floor.

"What do you mean thank you Bill?" I ask taking my wand back from him.

George smiles, "He's the one that told me,. If you ever really want to kiss a girl and they want to kiss you, stall. He said it's a lot hotter that way."

"Bloody hell."

"Was he wrong though?"

I slap his chest playfully, "Where are we going?"

George takes my un-injured hand and leads me down the passage, "You'll see in a minute. You just have to promise me that you won't tell anyone what you've seen."

"Everywhere I go people are asking me to keep secrets." I say.

"Who else is asking you to keep secrets?" George says turning around to look at me.

I wave him off, "Seriously, what are we going to see?"

This time George waves me off and we walk in silence till we get to the other side of the passage. George fumbles with his wand for a minute and the stone wall in front of him opens up. "Come on." He tugs my arm a bit and he goes through the wall and out into the bushes.

We walk on the edge of the castle grounds and into the forest, there's a big flash of light up ahead followed by a roar of some beast. "Where the hell are you taking me?"

"Charlie!" George shouts. He pushes past some more bushes and I finally can what he wanted to show me. Four massive dragons are in cages that look bigger than Hogwarts itself. One of the dragons roar and the handlers that are running around pull their wands out and stun the beast.

"Hey guys!" Charlie comes over to us and gives both George and I a big hug each, "Beautiful creatures aren't they?"

I step forward to get a better look at the beasts. One in particular stands out, it's got black scales and it's sleek like a lizard, "That's the Hungarian Horntail isn't it? One of the most dangerous dragons out there." I say in total awe and amazement that I'm even this close to one.

Charlie laughs, "Damn right it is, took forever to get her into that cage but it's all going to be worth it soon."

I turn back around and look at the two of them, Charlie smiles, "I had the same look that you got the first time I was this close to a dragon. They're such beautiful beasts, so misunderstood."

George coughs a few times but it sounds an awful lot like 'nerd'. "I'm sorry I didn't even ask you. How have you been?" I say to Charlie. I go back and stand beside George. He isn't paying any attention to the conversation that Charlie and I are having, he's staring right at the dragons.

"I've been fantastic, work is my favourite thing so right after mum dropped you all off at the station I headed back to Romania. But then Dumbledore sent an owl asking if I could help with the first task of the tournament so here I am."

George snaps his attention back to Charlie, "You mean that the champions are going to have to... fight these things?"

Charlie nods and stuffs his hands in the front pocket of his jeans, "Yeah. Didn't tell mum though, she's already losing her mind about the fact that Harry is competing. She was so sure that you would all be safe cause none of you were old enough to enter."

"Better not tell her that George and Fred tried to trick Dumbledore's age line either then." I say.

Charlie looks from me to George and smiles, "Did you actually? How did it go?"

George winces at the memory, "Well we were tossed back about ten feet and we sprouted grey beards."

Charlie throws his head back and howls with laughter, "Oh please tell me someone's got a picture of that."

"I'm pretty sure Lee snapped a few of them before Madam Pomfrey turned them back into sixteen year olds." I say through a big smile.

George, Charlie, and I talk for about two more hours. Once the handlers got the dragons properly sedated, Charlie brought us closer to the cages so we could see them up close. George was hesitant, he stayed a little ways behind us as Charlie brought me so close to them I could feel their hot breath on my skin.

"How did you get into something so dangerous as dragons?" I ask him as he walks us back to the edge of the forest.

Charlie shrugs, "Since I was a kid I was fascinated by them and when I took Care of Magical Creatures in third year I knew that studying dragons was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I never really was interested in having a girlfriend or anything like my friends were. I put all my energy into knowing everything there is to know about dragons. And quidditch of course, you don't get to be a Hogwarts legend if you muck around with things like relationships."

"Oi! I'm a Hogwarts legend and I have a girlfriend." George says.

Charlie laughs, "Relationships aren't for everyone, but I'm real happy you found one G. She's a good one, best you keep her around."

George smiles and wraps his arm around my waist, "You just like her because she's interested in dragons."

"Violet's the kind of person you were missing from your life. Unlike any of us, she's got her head screwed on the right way round. But she's also got the perfect amount of laid back craziness so she's not a total bore. Unlike someone else we all know." Charlie says, refrencing to his younger brother Percy.

Charlie wishes us a good night and tells us to head straight to bed, the next week is going to be hectic.

"I can't believe the first task is dragons!" George whispers, in case a staff member is patrolling the grounds.

"It sound's sort of awful, but I am so fucking happy that your ageing potion didn't work. I would just straight up drop dead if I had to watch you face a dragon." I whisper back at him.

George squeezes my hand, "Don't tell Fred, but I'm real glad it didn't work either. Especially seeing what they have to do."

"I'm sort of worried for Harry and Cedric. I mean Charlie said that the champions don't know what they are going to be faced with. It seems unfair."

George and I get to the same wall of the castle we came out from. George opens the passage again and we slip inside, the stone moving back in place behind us. "Cedric is a lot of things, most of them annoy me. But he's a talented wizard, I'm sure he'll be fine. Harry's only in fourth year. I know for a fact Ronald wouldn't be able to take on a dragon."

"Remember when we were in first and second year and it was just normal, run of the mill classes and things? I miss that." I mean it as a joke but it's also sort of true. What Emma said was right, ever since Harry's shown up it's been one huge, dangerous event after another.

"I don't miss it for a second." George says. He turns around to look at me, there's light coming through the crack of the wall behind him so I know that we are back at the painting entrance.

"You don't?"

I can just make out George shaking his head, "First and second year I wasn't with you. You were off trying to be the perfect Slytherin and that meant not talking to Gryffindors. And I sort of think that if it wasn't for the total shit show that Harry brought to school with him then you and I would have remained acquaintances."

"Did you eat cheese at dinner? Cause that was a proper cheesy line."

George sighs and I giggle at my own joke. "I hate you, you know that right?" George whispers.

"Love you too." I peck the tip of his nose.

"You do?"

"Course I do, what sort of question is that?"

"Prove it."


	94. Part 4, Chapter 21

Lessons on Tuesday were cut so we had the entire afternoon free to watch the champions duel their dragons. Which meant that none of us had anything to do because our charms class was in the afternoon.

"Let's go and make sure we get good seats," Fred says after we finish breakfast. "Charlie told me that the closer you sit to the front the better the chances are of actually feeling the heat from the dragon's fire."

Emma looks at Fred in disgust, "Will you please stop acting like this is the best thing to ever happen! One of our peers might die today Fred." Fred sticks his tongue out at her and Emma rolls her eyes. After I told each of them about trying to get the other jealous it's just gotten worse. Emma is nearly always attached to Elliott, whether it be by the lips or by the hip. And Fred has taken it upon himself to flirt with anything and everything that walks past him when he's around Emma boys and girls alike.

"I hate to be that person..." I start

George claps his hand over my mouth so I can't finish my sentence, "Please don't say that we have to finish writing a composition or something. Just one day I would like to be with my friends with no pressure of having to do school."

I lick his palm but he doesn't budge. He moves his head so his mouth is by my ear, "You think licking me will get me to let go? After what we've done to each other?" He whispers, his lips brushing against my ear ever so gently. I can feel my cheeks instantly heat up and get red.

"It's sort of cold outside though. I'd rather not freeze to death for longer than I have to." Lee says.

Walter pulls Lee into his chest, "I'll keep you warm love." He says softly.

"You know, my brother is the one who's planned the first task." We can all hear Fred say to some random girl from Beauxbaton that's walking past. "I can tell you what it is, for a price of course." He taps his bottom lip with his index finger. The girl, who I really cannot believe is buying this, smiles shyly and giggles.

"Take it from me darling. His brother is a lot hotter than he is." Emma says. Fred turns to look at Emma, both anger and admiration are in his eyes.

"Don't listen to her baby..." Fred turns back around to where the girl was standing but she's long gone.

Everyone roars with laughter and Emma sticks her tongue out at Fred the same way he did to her moments ago.

"You haven't even met Charlie." Lee says laughing hard.

Emma is staring right at Fred when she responds, "Don't have to. Anything is more attractive than Fred."

"Oi! We share a face you know." George says. He takes his hand from my mouth and wipes my spit off onto his jeans.

"Let's meet at the back door in an hour? I need to actually shower and get dressed before we go find seats for the first task." I say. I peck George on the nose and take Emma and Walters hands and pull them down into the dungeons.

"Don't miss me too much!" Walter calls out to Lee.

I can hear Lee's contagious laugh echoing off the walls which makes Wally smile as big as I've ever seen it.

"Isn't he the absolute cutest?" Walter sighs once we are far enough away from the Gryffindor boys.

"How are you two doing?" Emma asks.

Walter's smiles never falters when he speaks, "I've never been this happy in a long time. And now that he doesn't have quidditch to focus on he's been focusing all his attention and pent up emotions on me if you know what I mean."

I howl like a dog and Emma whistles, "Can't believe you're both getting some and I'm not," Emma sighs.

"Don't even try to tell me that you sneaking out at night with Elliott doesn't end with more than just a few snogs." I nudge her with my shoulder and I watch her smile.

"It's not actually. I mean there's been stuff. We do stuff. Just not all the stuff. I just can't stop thinking about Fred the entire time."

We get into the common room and Emma and I go into the girls showers so we can get cleaned up before the first task.

"You seriously only think about Fred when you're with Elliott?" I ask her as I grab my toiletries bag from my trunk. I throw two towels over my shoulder and look at her.

"Don't even get me started, I hate the fact that I can't stop thinking about him. I know you said he likes me and is just trying to play hard to get or whatever but I'm seriously starting to hate the man. I mean seriously?" Emma puts her shower things on her bed and clears her throat. "I can tell you what the first task is... for a price." Emma says in her best Fred interpretation. She blows me a kiss and rolls her eyes as I start laughing.

"He's being disgusting sure, but his little antics don't involve someone else's feelings." I pull open the dorm room door and Emma walks through it.

"Who's side are you on?" Emma says half joking.

I close the door behind us and Emma and I walk down the hall, past the other dorm rooms to the big door at the end of the hallway, the door to the showers, "I'm not on a side. I'm the unbiased third party that notices things."

Once we are all clean we dress in the warmest clothes we have and head out to meet Walter in the common room.

"Violet! You're forgetting your button!" Draco says coming up behind me. I wince so only my friends see and turn around to look at Draco.

"Thanks Dray. But I seriously don't think wearing these buttons is appropriate. Someone could get seriously hurt."

"Yeah me!" Draco exclaims. "The whole school is wearing the buttons I've masterfully created. Every single person but the Gryffindors... and my own flesh and blood."

I snatch the button out of his hands and pin it to my Slytherin scarf that's around my shoulders. "You're dramatic." I say to him.

Draco pecks my cheek, "Thank you for your support Violet." He steps behind me and gives both Emma and Walter pins as well. "Could you save me a seat with you if you're going out early? I still have classes. Father and I have a bet, I say Potter won't last longer than ten minutes. Father says he won't last five! I have to write to him with the results."

"You know we're sitting with the Weasley twins right?" Wally says to Draco.

Draco stops and contemplates for a moment, "Never mind then. We'll find our own seats." Draco dashes off to his friends that are sitting at a few of the desks waiting for him.

"Get your ass to class Malfoy!" I call after him. Draco flips me the bird but he's smiling so I know he's not being serious.

We meet the boys where we said we were and we head out to the special ring that the ministry people set up specifically for the task. I can spot Charlie's red head bobbing around from a mile away. Fred and George's faces light up. It's not every day they see their older brother.

"Charlie!" Fred calls when we get closer. Charlie spins around and gives us a very animated wave. We all walk over to him and he throws his arms over both of Fred and George's shoulders.

"Ready for the show boys?" Charlie says excitedly, "These dragons are the best of the best. I really hope they don't get hurt."

George and Fred look at each other and smile. George told me the other day that they had plans to have a gambling booth thing set up so that people could take bets on who would win or lose. Most of the profit goes to them and their joke shop of course.

"Char this is Walter, Emma, and Lee. The rest of our friends. Guys this is our brother Charlie." George says pointing at each of them as he says their names.

"Wow look at that. I was right." Emma says looking from Charlie to Fred with a smirk on her face.

Charlie scrunches his eyebrows together in confusion, "I think I'm just going to ignore that for the sake of my safety." He says laughing, "She's small but I feel like she's packing a punch."

"I'm surprised you even got to meet her. Normally she's got her lips attached to some French salaud." Fred says staring at Emma. Charlie looks between the two of them and then looks at George and I.

"I'm surprised your brother hasn't tried to take your female handler to bed yet. She's been here what? All of one week? That's a new record." Emma spits back at him.

"Nope, definitely not getting mixed into that. Walter, Lee, nice to meet you both." Charlie says leaving Emma and Fred to glare at each other.

"Nice to meet you too. The boys have told us a lot about you. Violet has too actually." Lee says.

"Violet's an honorary Weasley at this point. She's like the second sister I never got." Charlie says.

George kisses my temple, "Please don't say that cause now all I can think of is Violet morphing into Ginny."


	95. Part 4, Chapter 22

"Good afternoon everyone! And welcome to the first task of the Triwizard Tournament!" Dumbledore's voice echos through the arena from an unknown location. The crowd goes wild. The sound is deafening, louder than any quidditch match I've ever been to. Fred and George squeeze through the crowd and back into their seats. They spent the majority of the morning getting people to bet on champions and now they are finally ready to watch the event.

"Now, for your safety as spectators!" Dumbledore calls. The crowd goes quiet, no one really knowing what is going to happen. "I have been asked by the handlers to tell you all some quick rules that must be followed. Firstly, absolutely no signs! Parchment or otherwise! These can and will distract what the champions must battle against! The use of a sign will put you and everyone around you in immediate danger and if a member of staff sees you with one you will be removed from the arena!"

"Charlie said stuff like that could get the dragons riled up and start attacking us instead. Wicked right?" Fred whispers down the line.

"Lovely," Walter mumbles

"Also! I need to ask everyone to keep their hands, arms, legs, and any other body part on the same side of the fencing as you stand! Once again this is very dangerous and will put you and those around you in great danger!" Dumbledore continues.

"I can't watch." I can hear a familiar voice from behind me. I turn around and Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and a few other Gryffindor students are standing there.

"And now! I introduce Mister Ludo Bagman and commentator this afternoon!" The crowd cheers and claps loudly.

"Thank you Dumbledore! Now the judges and I have kept very tight lipped about the first task. And the time as come for us to finally tell you what it is!" Mister Bagman shouts. "Each contestant will have to collect a golden egg from the arena. Easy enough right?" He pauses for dramatics, "Wrong! Each egg is being guarded by a fierce and dangerous dragon!"

The entire crowd gasps and starts to talk loudly. Mister Bagman has to raise his hand for silence again. "Each champion has been assigned a specific dragon to battle and outsmart! The only tool allowed? Their wand!"

"I can't believe that this is really happening." I say, my hands covering my mouth in a form of shock.

"Nothing bad'll happen. Charlie and his team is supposed to jump in if something gets too awful." George says. He puts his arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his side.

"Bring out the first beast!" Mister Bagman shouts.

A gate on the other side of the arena opens and a huge dragon stalks out of the darkness. The crowd screams in both horror and excitement. I recognize it as the Swedish Short Snout before Mister Bagman introduces it. The dragon roars and fire erupts from its mouth.

"Bloody hell." Lee shouts, he's smiling from ear to ear just like the twins.

We can all hear Mister Bagman clear his throat, "And bring out the first champion!" Everyone in the crowd stops their feet as a sort of drum roll and a door opens on the opposite side of the arena. We can see the colours their wearing before we can make out who it is.

"Cedric Diggory!" Mister Bagman shouts. Cedric is wearing yellow and black, the Hufflepuff colours. As soon as he steps into the arena the door behind him closes and the crowd roars.

As soon as the dragon sees Cedric the action starts. The dragon stalks towards him and Cedric pulls out his wand and dives behind a rock just in the nick of time.

"Looks like pretty boy isn't going to be so pretty after this." Fred jokes. Emma and I both look at him horrified and he shrugs an apology.

Cedric hides behind a big rock, out of view of the dragon. Mister Bagman is commentating but no one is really listening. Cedric manages to transfigure a rock into and big hairy dog and sends it around the boulder he's hiding behind.

"Brilliant move on Diggorys behalf!" Mister bagman shouts over the roar of the crowd. The Hufflepuffs are going wild, in fact, every Hogwarts student is in the middle of losing their mind.

My mouth stays wide open in complete shock as the dog that Cedrick transfigured dashes in he opposite direction of the nest, getting the dragons attention.

"He's got to teach me that spell, my mother would never let me get a dog." Walter says.

No one responds to him though. We're far to busy watching Cedric dive from rock to rock getting closer and closer to the dragons nest. The nest is full of real eggs, all except the golden one that he has to capture.

"He's done it! I can't believe he's done it!" George yells. Cedric is feet away from the nest, I can tell hes calculating his next move.

"The dragon! Cedric! The dragon!" Emma screams.

It's like the entire crowd heard her. Every single pair of eyes in the crowd moves onto the dragon who has apparently bitten the dog and realized that it was fake. Now it's clambering over the rocks right towards Cedric.

"I'm gonna be sick." I moan. I cover my eyes with my hands but part my fingers so I can see through the gaps.

It feels like I'm watching it in slow motion. The dragon opens its mouth just as Cedric dives for the egg knowing that as soon as its in his hands he gets to go back to safety. His fingers graze the egg, the dragon releases a burst of flames that hit Cedric nearly right in the face.

Every person screams bloody murder, expecting to see a charred body where Cedric once was. But Mister Bagman blows his whistle and Charlie and the rest of the handlers come out of nowhere and get the dragon back into the cage it came from.

"Congratulations Cedric Diggory!" Mister Bagman shouts. It's only just dawned on us. He's not dead, he's got the golden egg. "The first of our four brave champions to brave a dragon and succeed! Now may we please have Madam Pomfrey... Ah here she comes now."

Cedric is groaning on the floor, one of his hands clasped over his face, the other clutching the egg as tight as he can. Madam Pomfrey and professor Sinistra who teaches astronomy come running out into the arena. They load Cedric up in a stretcher and float him out of the area and back where he came from nearly fifteen minutes ago.

"I can't believe he survived that." Lee says as he releases the breath he was holding. "I mean how could anyone survive a dragons fiery breath to the face?"

"I could have." Fred says. We all look down the line at him and he looks back at us and shrugs, "I totally could have."

"Yeah alright there big guy." Emma says. Everyone laughs but Fred just frowns.

"I don't think my heart can handle watching three more people do this." Walter says. The crowd around us have broken into their own little conversations while we wait for the dragon handlers to move the Swedish short snout out of the way and bring in the next dragon.

"One of them is fourteen! Imagine trying to defeat a dragon at fourteen! Do you know what we were doing at fourteen?"

"Sneaking through hidden corridors between the castle wall with our pockets full of candy?" George states.

I smile fondly at the memory, the six of us hauling ass through tight passages and steep, hidden staircases. "Exactly! I couldn't even get back to my common room without being caught. Now imagine trying to battle a dragon!"


	96. Part 4, Chapter 23

"One down, three to go! Please, show us the next beast!" Mister Bagman practically screams. The crowd erupts in cheers as the big door at the left end of the arena opens once again. Another dragon, a bigger, scarier dragon, works its way out to the middle of the arena where the nest has been moved to.

"Common Welsh Green that one is." George says peering over the rail like he can't see it perfectly fine where he is, "That's a beast of a dragon."

My heart leaps out of my chest, I'd rather have Harry battle this one than the Hungarian Horntail that Charlie and I were talking about a few nights ago. Please let this one be Harry's, please let this one be...

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Miss Fleur Delacour!"

Fuck.

Fleur doesn't come out of the champions door as strong as Cedric did but you can see in her face just how fierce she is. Instantly her wand is in her hand. She uses Cedric's technique, jumping from rock formation to rock formation, but instead of getting closer to the nest, she gets closer to the dragon.

"She's absolutely stunning isn't she?" Fred sighs. I could barely hear him so I haven't got a single clue how Emma heard him from three seats away.

"She's way out of your league. She's battling a dragon and you couldn't even get past an age line." Emma says back to him.

Fleur tightens her grip on her wand and waves it sharply through the air. Blue-grey fog seeps out of the tip of her wand and down to the ground. It snakes around itself before floating into the dragons nose. Instantly the dragon falls asleep. The crowd is deafening. All the Beauxbatons students scream in support.

Fleur steps from her hiding spot and starts to walk past the sleeping dragon carefully. A nearly flawless plan is interrupted by a quick breath out of the dragons nose, accompanied by fire that catches on Fleur's skirt. The crowd gasps but Fleur barley blinks. She puts the fire out with almost a lazy squish of her wand and continues around the dragon. She steps over its tail and picks up the golden egg like it was nothing.

"And just like that! Beauxbaton champion Miss Fleur Delacour survives a vicious dragon and moves onto the next round! Might want to invest in a new skirt before then." Mister Bagman shouts.

"That only took like ten minutes! That girls wicked." Emma says.

Fred and George open the little case that they were using to keep everyone's in order and update the list of people. Even with her fantastic performance Fleur only scored a six out of ten from the judges which puts her behind Cedric who managed to get a seven.

"If Viktor and Harry get higher than a seven then we'll have a lot of angry Hufflepuffs on our hands. Already nearly every Beauxbaton is mad, especially since they remember that they're down a galleon each." George says. He holds out a long roll of parchment in front of him counting names.

"So how does your betting work? How do you two end up with money at the end of it all?" Lee asks.

"Costs a galleon to put your name on the list beside who you think is going to win. If the person you've bet on wins then we give you two galleons. But their really only making one galleon in profit because it costs a galleon to put your name in anyways. If your champion loses you get nothing. About half the crowd pitched in, about a hundred put their money on Cedric, and he's gotten a fairly low score. Which means as long as Harry and Viktor do better than him then we've made loads of money." George explains.

"Viktor's got all of fifteen votes on him. Twelve from Durmstrang and three from Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle. Fleurs only got about seven, all from Beauxbaton. And Harrys got about thirty or so. Each from Gryffindor." Fred adds on.

"So if Viktor wins you're walking out with 122 galleons, if Harry wins you're walking out with 92." Emma quickly does the maths in her head.

"But if Cedric wins than you're walking our poorer than you've come in. About fifty galleons poorer." Lee points out.

"Yeah, we're sort of betting on the fact that Cedric doesn't do so well this round." Fred says realizing the fact that if the next two champions do horribly they could be walking out fifty galleons poorer.

"Who's next, who's next. Right then! Best we get the show on the road and release the beast!" Mister Bagmans voice cuts through our conversation, only then do I really remember that, yes, there are people still fighting for their lives against dragons and I wasn't just having a weird fever dream.

The dragons door opens... nothing happens. We can hear the handlers grunting and the dragon roaring in the darkness but it doesn't come out.

About five minutes pass and finally it emerges from its hiding spot. A Chinse Fireball. "If Harry doesn't have to fight this one then he has the Hungarian Horntail and I don't think I'm ready to watch that." I whisper to George.

"Couse Harry has the Hungarian Horntail. When has the world ever been easy on that kid?" George whispers back to me. He holds me close to him and breathes out. I can barley hear his heartbeat over the sound of the crowd.

"From Durmstrang! Viktor Krum!"

The Durmstrang students start a low grumbling chant. The rest of the students actually stop cheering to listen to them. It's eerie, uncomfortable, but its also beautiful. When they stop chanting the cheering resumes. Instantly Viktor hits the dragon with some sort of spell. The dragons eyes go a milky white colour.

"A brilliant wizard and a fantastic flier!" I can hear Ron shout from behind me, followed by a loud thud which probably means that Hermione has hit him with something.

The dragon stumbles around now blind. It does everything in it's power to protect the nest, spreading its wings, sending waves of fire any way that it can. Viktor narrowly misses being shot in the chest with a ball of fire coming from the dragon and the crowd screams.

In it's confusion the dragon stumbles over some rocks and steps into the nest, squishing nearly half of the real eggs. "The poor dragon!" Emma wails.

I look up at the judges who are shaking their head in a form of disappointment. They're going to take marks off for that I can feel it. About another five minutes pass before Viktor is holding the golden egg above his head in victory. The crowd erupts into cheers. The judges award Viktor a nine out of ten.

"Charlie isn't going to be too pleased with this one." Fred calls out. "A blinded dragon and four squashed dragon eggs? He might cry."

The Chinese Fireball takes a lot more time getting back into the cage. I can see Charlie's bright red hair bobbing around the dragon to try and get it back into its cage.

"Am I the only one that's sort of bored at this point? I mean we get it. You do a fancy spell, get the dragons attention off of you, and grab the egg." Walter yawns.

"There's only one person left. Then we can go in for dinner and snuggle by a campfire somewhere." I say to him.

George looks at me and smirks, "He can go snuggle up to a campfire himself. You're mine all night long." He whispers into my ear.

I kiss him in a response and all of our friends groan. Someone behind us hits us in the head. When we separate from each other I figure out that it was Ron. "Do you really think that now is the time for you to be kissing? My best friend could die!"

"He's not my best friend." George says shrugging his shoulders.

Ron slaps him with his mitten covered hand again and George laughs. "Imagine if mum heard you say that!"

"She didn't though. Charlie says mum doesn't even know what this task is."

The two of them start to bicker, which means that Fred joins in as the devils advocate. I turn to Emma, Walter, and Lee and shrug.

"Last but not least! The most dangerous and violent dragon we've seen all day! Handlers, bring out the Hungarian Horntail!" Mister Bagman shouts. The crowd is the loudest it's ever been. The Weasley boys stop arguing and clap and cheer along with the rest of us.

"Hope you said goodbye to your friend there Ronald." Fred calls behind him. I glance over my shoulder and Ron is a pale white. His eyes are full of fear.

"And finally! Our last champion of the day, our youngest champion of the day. Mister Harry Potter!"


	97. Part 4, Chapter 24

The crowd was full of a mixture of cheers and boos as little Harry Potter walked out into the arena. Harry didn't waste any time. He raised his wand and shouted something. Something that no one could hear over the noise of the students watching.

The Horntail, thankfully, isn't moving from her nest. She's watching Harry though, watching him like... like an overprotective dragon.

"What do you suppose he just cast?" Lee shouts.

But we didn't have to answer him because a broom came soaring into the arena from above us. Harry snatches his Firebolt out of the air and jumps on top of it. He soars into the sky, several feet above the dragon. Harry dived and the Horntails head followed him like a snake.

"Jesus Christ," Fred yells.

Harry pulls up on his broom just in the nick of time, the Horntail opens its mouth and shoots a wave of fire at Harry, or where Harry was moments ago.

"Great Scott! He can fly!" Mister Bagman shouts, "Are you watching this Mister Krum?"

We watch as Harry soars higher and higher into the sky, making small circles above the dragons head.

"She want's to follow him. Look at her." Walter shouts. The dragons head is moving in a slow circle as she watches Harry fly around. Harry dives again just as the Horntail opens its mouth.

"Harry watch out!" We all scream at the same time but it's far too late. Harry managed to miss the flames shooting out of the dragons mouth but the dragons tail came whipping around and hits him in the arm. Harry pulls away, his robes now shredded, blood pouring down his one arm.

"Astounding!" Mister Bagman shouts. The crowd is the quietest its ever been. Everyone standing up and trying to get the best possible view of whats happening.

Harry soared around the Horntail a few more times, clearly thinking of something else to try because dive bombs haven't been working in his favour.

He started flying back and forth, not too far from the dragons head. The higher he rose in the sky the more her neck stretched out.

"He's trying to get her air borne!" George says, stating the very obvious. Both of the twins, along with Walter and Lee are invested in this performance more so than the other ones, no doubt because it's the closest thing to quidditch they'll have all year.

The dragon shot fire in the air, the crowd gasps, Harry dodges it. Finally, the dragon spreads its long, leathery, black wings. Everyone goes insane. As soon as the dragon is airborne Harry dives so fast it was genuinely hard to see him. He reaches out with his uninjured hand and snatched the golden egg out of the nest with ease.

"He's done it! Holy shit he's still alive!" I scream. Every single person in the arena is screaming as loud as they possibly can. It's like I'm back at the Quidditch World Cup. As soon as I think of that night though, my head hurts and flashes of dark cloaks, screaming children, and that muggle woman flood my vision. I stumble back and practically fall into my seat behind me.

"Violet! Are you alright!?" George yells. He sits down in the empty seat beside me and puts both his hands on my cheeks, "You're here with me, you're safe. It's alright." He says so only I can hear him. I don't have to tell him what happened right now, but I know I'll have to later when we're alone. None of my other friends notice that I'm no longer cheering with the rest of them. Once Mister Bagman finishes his final announcements and congratulations for Harry, the stands clear out.

"That was bloody brilliant flying. The best I've ever seen!" Walter says once we are on our way back to the castle.

"He couldn't have done it without the Firebolt. Imagine how interesting quidditch would be if all of the house players could have a broom like that!" Lee says hopping beside Walter. Emma heads off to find Elliott, which causes Fred to run off and find Angelina.

"What happened back there?" George says to me.

I still have a pounding headache, my heart is beating a mile a minute and I can't seem to catch my breath. "I haven't been around a crowd that loud since the World Cup... and once I thought of that I was back there, with the Death Eaters. All I could hear was the screaming, all I could see was that innocent muggle family." I tell him.

George pulls me out of the flow of students that are heading back into the castle so we don't interrupt anyone walking. He leads me away from the chattering students and we don't stop walking till we enter the old and overgrown apple orchard that borders the fence that separates Hogsmeade from Hogwarts. Because it's nearly December, all the leaves have fallen off the tree and the ground is littered with dry leaves that crunch under out footsteps.

We sit at an old, musty looking marble bench that sits in the middle or the orchard. "Sit here a while, till you can breathe normally again." George says to me in the most calming and love filled voice I've ever heard him speak in.

I instantly start to shake and sob. I clutch my throat and cry even louder, not caring how I look or who can hear me. It doesn't last long, only a few minutes, till I calm down fully and rest my head on George's shoulder carefully.

"I think you might have something called PTSD love." George says softly.

I sniff my nose and move my head off his shoulder so I can look at him, "You don't say." I give him a half smile but he doesn't give one back to me.

"I'm serious."

"I know you are." I say to him. "I've suffered from anxiety and depression for as long as I can remember so I'm very much familiar with panic attacks and mental breakdowns and things. But ever since that night... those people... I could never ask my aunt and uncle to talk to someone about it though."

George doesn't say anything he just watches me try to string a sentence together, "If I ever brought up things like this to my aunt and uncle they would lock me in Saint Mungo's and no one would ever see me again. And they don't like the idea of those mental health doctors. They say only weak blooded people use those. That's muggle behaviour."

"Have you spoken to anyone about this sort of stuff?" George asks.

I chuckle to myself, "Well besides you? Uhm... Draco. He's just as messed up as I am. But I have to be strong for him, I am stronger than him. If I wasn't around he would be the only one my aunt and uncle... mostly my uncle... would treat horribly. He wouldn't be able to shoulder that by himself."

George doesn't say anything for a long time... a really long time. "I want to say 'just say with us this summer. You and Draco both could stay at my house' but that would never work." George puts his hand on my knee and squeezes it a little, "I would like to be there for you, through everything and anything no matter how small. Please tell me when you are feeling panicked. I'll come and sit with you."

I put my hand on top of George's and I interlock his fingers with my own, "I don't want to be a burden."

George puts his other hand on my chin and gently guides my face towards him so we are looking at each other. "You are not a burden, not on me, not on our friends, not on anyone. You're my favourite person in the entire world and I want to make sure that you are safe, happy, and overall content no matter where you are or what you are doing. You deserve more than I could ever give you but I'd be damned if I don't try to give you everything."

"Gross."

George rolls his eyes, "I'm trying to be caring and loving and all you have to say is gross?"

I peck his cheek and smile, "You know how I'm like. I can't take anything too seriously or else I'll lose my mind."

"You and Fred are a lot more alike than you want to admit you know."

I start laughing before I even say my comment, "So what you're saying... is that you're just dating the girl version of your twin brother? Sounds a little messed up to me there Georgie."

George laughs, but only once, a really loud HA! "That's disgusting."

"You're the one that said it."

"And now I'm un-saying it."

"That's... what?"

"You heard me."

"I hate you."

"No you don't."


	98. Part 4, Chapter 25

The school didn't stop talking about the first task of the Triwizard Tournament till the middle of December when we had to have dancing lessons from the head of our houses.

Yeah, you heard me. Dancing lessons.

From our head of house.

Dancing lessons.

From Professor Snape.

Nothing could have prepared me for December sixteenth. "Students!" Snape shouts as he comes into the common room. "After dinner... Every Slytherin student must meet me in the great hall... no exceptions... no tardiness..." He looks around at those who are in the common room which just so happens to include Emma, Walter, Draco, and I.

"What do you think that was about?" Draco asks us. He's been studying with us for the past month or so, he's still having some difficulty with a few of his classes but he won't tell any of his friends that.

"Could be about the Yule Ball. You know how Aunt Narcissa was talking about having a great big celebration or something." I say to him. I peer over at his star map, "Dray, Scorpius is here, not there." I point at two locations on his map. He groans and tries to fix it the best he can.

"But why do we have to have some great big meeting about it? I know I learned ballroom dancing when I was a kid." Emma says.

"Yeah we did too. But I suppose not everyone did?" Draco says. He's got ink all over his quill hand.

"I bet you loads of Slytherins took lessons. It's the rest of the school that doesn't know how to dance." Walter adds to the conversation, without looking up from his textbook though.

After dinner George asks if I want to go do something and I have to say no. I can't believe Snape is cock-blocking me. When the rest of the school files out of the hall Snape magics the tables and benches out of the way so we have room to do whatever it is that he's making us do.

"Now... the Triwizard tournament is... exciting." He says in his basic monotone voice. Everyone is sitting on the benches on the side of the room. "And the tournament... comes with a celebration... a ball... now I assume that each of you came to Hogwarts this year with dress robes, is that... correct?"

Every one nods a few times, Snape pulls the sleeves of his robes up slightly. He flicks his wrist and a music box comes soaring from the other side of the room and lands in the middle of the room beside Snape.

"Everyone on staff is in agreement... We will not embarrass ourselves in front of our guests because our sorry excuse for a student body does not know how to dance..." Snape turns and puts the needle of the music box onto the record that is spinning on it slowly. He turns bac to face us, gentle classical music flows through the air. "Miss Blythe... Come here."

Clarissa steps away from Miriam and a few of the other girls she was with and makes her way over to Snape. "Do you know how to ballroom dance Miss Blythe?" Snape says coldly. The look on his face tells us everything. He's going to demonstrate how to dance by using Clarissa as his partner.

Walter, Emma, and I stifle our laughter along with a few other students. "Yessir, My father paid for my lessons as a child should a day arise that I needed to know." Clarissa says carefully.

"I didn't need a retelling of your childhood Miss Blythe. Give me your hand." Snape takes Clarissa's hand in his. My eyes water cause I'm trying so hard not to laugh. Clarissa looks like she might cry herself. Snape puts his hand on her waist, Clarissa puts her other hand on Snapes shoulder.

"I can't believe I don't have a camera right now." Walter whispers. He, along with everyone else in our house are watching Snape and Clarissa with wide eyes and big smiles on our faces.

"Follow my lead... Do not step on my toes." Snape barks. He steps and Clarissa follows suit. They dance together for a moment, I can hear Adrian and Graham giggling behind us. Snape lets go of Clarissa's hand and wipes both his hands on his robes like he's touched something disgusting.

"Pair up... I will not have any of my students fumbling around like idiots come the ball." Snape practically snaps at us all.

Emma and Walter pair up and start to float around the room. Draco comes over to me, "May I have this dance?" He asks with the biggest, stupidest smile on his face. I get flashbacks to Christmas when we were little kids, Draco and I dancing around our aunts and uncles, and family friends pretending to be like the grown ups.

"Course you can." I take his hand in mine and we walk to the middle of the room.

"I only asked you because I didn't want to dance with Pansy." Draco whispers.

I look over and both Crabbe and Goyle are fighting for Pansy's attention, she however is looking at a few of the girls who still don't have partners.

"Oh?" I say. Draco and I spin around the room, being careful as to not knock into anyone else. "I thought you and Pansy were just friends?"

Draco looks over at her and back to me, "We are. Pansy isn't even interested in guys. But I just don't want the rumors to start spreading again. Especially in the older years." Draco stops talking and looks right at me, "I wasn't supposed to tell you that. You're not allowed to tell anyone that I just told you that Pansy is a lesbian."

"Literally who would I tell? I hate to break it to you darling but no one really pays attention to the fourth years."

"Everyone seems to care an awful lot about perfect little Potter." Draco grumbles.

I try my hardest to hold my tongue but I can't stop myself from saying, "You also care an awful lot about perfect little Potter."

I don't think I've ever seen my cousin blush before. But here he is, dancing with me, blushing like a mad man, "I can't believe he battled a dragon." He says.

"Can't believe he survived battling a dragon. I love you Dray but there's no way in hell you could have ever pulled that off."

Snape comes over to where we are dancing and looks at us, "Your posture is lacking Miss LeStrange. I know your aunt taught you better than that." He snaps. I straighten my shoulders and look at him. He nods once and heads off to bug someone else.

"It's good he didn't get too badly hurt. He seems just fine in all his classes and things. Makes me wish I didn't pretend to be hurt for so long after that Hippogriff attacked me. Must have looked bad on my part." Draco mumbles.

We spin around the room slowly, following the beat of the music, "Are you taking anyone special to the ball?" I ask him.

Draco thinks for a moment, "Pansy was talking about us going together, given the fact that neither of us can go with who we really want to go with and all."

"So if you had the chance, you'd ask Harry?"

"I'm not answering that."

"I think you should."

Draco huffs, "Possibly... a slight chance, maybe... but he's madly in love with some Ravenclaw girl named Cho Chang so I don't see why we are talking about this in the first place.

I laugh at his uncomfortableness, "Well alright then, who would Pansy rather go with?"

"I'm not answering that either."

"Please? We're family, flesh and blood! We tell each other everything!"

Draco laughs at my begging, "She wants to ask that muggle born girl Hermione Granger. But rumor has it that she's going with Viktor Krum."

"Hermione and Viktor? Never thought I'd see that happen."

"Neither did Pansy, she cried about it for a few hours when she heard the news. Not like Hermione even knows that Pansy is interested in her of course."

Snape claps his hands and the music stops, "The ball is happening on Christmas night... I expect you to all be prepared and well rehearsed... and properly dressed." Snape looks over at a few of the fifth year students who are not at all in uniform. "Fourth years and above can come to the dance... however you may ask a younger student to accompany you if you so wish... Off to the common rooms you go."


	99. Part 4, Chapter 26

"Fred's going with Angelina." George says to the group the next day as we are studying in the library, "He asked her last night, shouted at her from across the common room as a matter of fact."

Emma looks up from her notes and makes eye contact with Fred but only for a split second, "Elliott gave me a dozen blue roses and wrote me a poem to ask me to the ball. Isn't he romantic?" Emma sighs.

"Sounds vile if you ask me," Fred says back to her.

"Right and yelling at someone halfway across the room is so much better. Eat a sock." Emma snaps at him.

We all stop what we are doing and look at her, "Did you just say... eat a sock?" Lee says, he's trying really hard not to smile but it's no use. Emma shrinks down in her seat and everyone howls with laughter.

"I'm not sure who I'm going with quite yet," George says.

I look at him and tilt my head, "George we've been dating for nearly five years at this point."

The rest of our friends go quiet, I can tell their all a little nervous to hear what is going to happen next.

"Well I know that much. And I would love to go to the dance with you. But you haven't asked me yet."

I roll my eyes so far back into my head that it hurts, "Alright then. Come to the dance with me?"

George starts to pack his things and Fred does the same, "I dunno. That wasn't a very romantic way of asking someone to go to the dance now is it?"

"Well it seemed perfectly alright when Fred did it." I say to him, I try to sound as annoyed as possible but I've never been really good at faking my emotions around people I care about.

Fred and George stand up from the table. Fred waves goodbye to us all and heads out of the library. George kisses the top of my head before he follows after his brother, "Well Fred is Fred. I just expect more from someone I've been naked with." He whispers the last part in attempts to conceal what he's saying but it doesn't work. Walter and Lee whistle which gets a very angry look from Madam Pince.

"Say no to my invitation to the dance one more time and we might never be naked with each other again" I say to him.

George leans down and hums softly into my ear, "And why don't I believe that?"

Fred comes back to the open library door looking very annoyed, "George! You'll see her in a few hours. Lets go!" He shouts.

"No yelling in my library!" Madam Pince says to Fred from her desk.

Fred looks down at his feet which are not technically in the library given he's standing just outside the door frame, "Technically I'm not in the library ma'am."

Madam Pince throws a bit of chalk across the room aimed directly at Fred's head but he manages to miss being hit.

George peppers the top of my head with a bunch more kisses, "I'll see you tonight." He waves goodbye to the table and I watch as he jogs after his brother.

I turn back to look at my friends. "Does this mean you're going to plan a very romantic evening with Georgie tonight?" Lee asks me.

"Course it doesn't. It means Violet is going to the dance solo and talking to a bunch of guys till George gets jealous enough to take her away from them all."

"It does not mean that!" Lee says, he looks at me and I shrug my shoulders, he shakes his head. "Never mind. Course it means that."

I reach across the table and pat Lee's hand. "I should plan a big romantic picnic or something but not doing anything and going to the ball alone sounds a lot more fun."

"Unless he asks you of course. Then you'll go with him." Walter says. "Violet doesn't like to lose so she'll make sure that it'll be him asking her to the ball."

I tap my index finger on my temple before pointing it at Walter, "Exactly my good boy."

"What do you suppose they ran off to do?" Emma asks, moving the conversation off of the ball.

"George told me they were talking with someone about buying a building in Diagon Alley for Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. They've been making really good money selling their joke products all throughout the school."

"Not to mention the money they got out of Ludo Bagman during the Quidditch World Cup, he gave them a hundred galleons because he lost a bet." Lee adds.

"And the money they've been making on the bets for the Triwizard tournament." Walter adds.

"Speaking of money, I need you all to give me your donations to the Weasley Christmas fund soon so I can count exactly how much we have."

"I have about twenty galleons that I can add to the pot. I'll give it to you once we get back to the common room." Walter says to us all.

"I have... ten I believe but I'm sure I have a little left over from last years pocket money." Emma says cheerily.

"So it's decided then? No ones getting anyone else presents, we give all our money to the boys." I put my quill down and look at all my friends.

"They deserve it. I don't have much, like two galleons but its all for them." Lee says. Walter puts his arm around his shoulders and kisses his temple hard.

Once we've finished studying, the four of us pack up our things and part ways. Walter and Lee head out somewhere secretive, and Emma and I head back to the common room.

"Shouldn't you be bumming around with Elliott?" I ask her once we've put our school things back in our dorm. "It's not like you to spend a Saturday without him."

Emma flops onto her bed, "He's been getting annoying recently. Very clingy."

"Maybe it's because he knows that you're interested in someone else." I sit on her bed and lie down beside her.

"Fred? I don't care for him anymore honestly. He's becoming a jerk."

"You've made him a jerk though. Why don't you just ask him to the ball? It's what you want."

Emma sits up on the bed and I sit up as well, "We've both got dates. It would be too complicated. Besides... He's going to come to me, I can feel it."

I look at her with my eyebrows raised, "What you're feeling is him falling for Angelina. Like genuinely falling for Angelina."

"So you think I should ask him?"

"Course I think you should ask him. I've been saying that for years it feels like."

Emma flops back down onto her bed and groans, "Boys are difficult."

"You make them difficult." I go over to my trunk and pull out the big bag that my Yule Ball dress is in. "You want to see it?" I ask her.

Emma immedietly sits up in her bed, "I can't believe that we haven't even shown each other our dresses yet!" She squeals. She crawls across her bed and sort of rolls off the end of it so she lands on her trunk. She scrambles off and pulls the dress bag from hers. We both hang our dresses on our four poster bed and undo the zipper.

"Oh Emma its beautiful!" I say staring at her dress. Its got a huge green skirt with a cream white bodice. Theres flower detailing on the waist and shoulders. Definitely something I would never wear but it will look stunning on Emma.

"Look at yours! It's going to look beautiful on you. Please let me do your makeup and hair!" Emma comes over to me and holds both my hands in hers, "You'll look stunning with some black eye shadow and maybe some red lippy."

I laugh, "Well who else was I going to have do my makeup?"

Emma squeals and hugs me tight, "Christmas is going to be magical!" She spins around the room, pretending that she's wearing a big dress instead of jeans and a blouse.

I laugh at her and I turn on the radio that is sitting on a dresser near my bed, soft classical music fills the room. I go over to her and bow really low to the ground, "May I 'ave zees dance?" I say in the worst possible French accent I've ever heard.

Emma throws her head back in laughter and takes my hand, "You can have this one and all the ones after!"

We start ballroom dancing in the sloppiest, over the top, animated way we possibly can, howling with laughter the entire time. The smile on my face never falters. These are the moments that I know are going to get me through the rough times that lie ahead. Remembering things like dancing horrifically with my best friend in the world, laughing with Walter through the corridors. Sneaking off with George in the middle of the night. It makes my heart swell just thinking of it. I know I have a family. Aunt Narcissa, Uncle Lucius, and little Draco. But these people, my best friends, they are my real family. My chosen family.


	100. Part 4, Chapter 27

Finally, Christmas.

I still haven't asked George to the ball and he hasn't asked me. Which means that I'm going 'solo' despite Walters pleas to just suck it up and ask him.

"I don't want to see you two start fighting in the middle of the ball. It's supposed to be a happy occasion." Walter says, fiddling with his bowtie.

I tie it up for him and pat his chest, "He's not going to fight with me. Not with how I'm going to look tonight."

"Best go off and get changed then," Walter says to me. He turns to look at himself in the mirror that's propped up on the wall in his dorm room. "Lee's supposed to be dropping off a boutineer for me soon. He says its something that all couples must wear or whatever."

"That's adorable," I say from behind him.

Walter straightens out his dress robes. It's definitely interesting to see him all dressed up, he looks really posh. "Men's robes are always so boring. They're all either black or brown."

"Have Emma do your makeup. She's doing mine."

Walter looks at me through the mirror. "Yeah alright. Go get changed for Christ sakes and I'll meet you in your dorm so Emma can do my makeup."

I stand up from the trunk that I was sitting on and peck Walter on the cheek, "Lee's a lucky man Clarence." I say to him.

"Can't say the same about George, given you're too pig-headed to ask your own boyfriend to a ball." He calls out after me as I leave his dorm.

I walk into my own dorm. Clarissa, Miriam, and Emma are already in their gowns and putting the final touches on their makeup and hair. They all look at me as I enter the room, still wearing my pyjamas.

Clarissa is wearing an emerald green, skin tight gown. Her blonde hair pulled up in a sleek ponytail. Miriam on the other hand is wearing a silver mermaid style gown, the train of her dress is attached to her hand by a little ring, making the dress move whenever she does. The colour of her dress is nearly perfect on her tanned skin. She looks at me and nods once before going back to pruning her reflection.

"You're joking right? Get your dress on!" Emma shrieks. She's already got her dress on, her makeup is finished, and she's adding a braid to the top of her hair.

I unzip the dress bag and start to change. I have Emma help me with the zipper on the back. The skirt is a lot bigger than I remember it being in the store. I turn and look at myself in the mirror. Emma claps her hands together and sighs, "You look so pretty! George is going to faint when he sees you looking like this."

She sits me down on my bed and pulls out all her makeup and brushes and things and starts literally painting my eyelids. She hums while she does it and I'm not sure if she even realizes that she's doing it.

I hear a knock on the dorm room door and we all look over at it at the same time. Draco is standing there in his robes, but of course, his tie isn't done up. He's also holding a package in his hands. I nod him in and he comes over to where Emma and I are.

"Walter told me to give this to you. Apparently George gave it to Lee to give to Walter to give to you but Walters still fussing in his dorm." Draco passes me the poorly wrapped package.

It has a note on the top,

For my girlfriend who's not my date because she never asked me. Maybe I shouldn't be giving you this at all.

I smile at the note and place it carefully on the bed beside me. I pull on the twine and it all unravels, I pull off the brown paper and gasp. Inside is a beautifully crated corsage. It has red roses with black leaves in the center with small white flowers surrounding it. There's also another note.

I've got a boutineer to match. Red for Gryffindor so everyone knows that your mine even though you didn't ask me to the dance which is rather rude on your part.

I take it fully out of the paper packaging and put it around my wrist, "I hate him." I say with the biggest smile on my face.

"Hold still, I'm nearly done with your eyes." Emma grumbles.

Draco looks around the room, staring at each of my dormmates respectfully. Then he looks at me who is getting their eye blown at by Emma, "You look so grown up like that. You look just like those pictures of your mother that are around the house." Draco says.

"Part your lips a bit, I have to put your lipstick on." Emma says. She holds my chin in her one hand and glides a stick of dark red lipstick carefully over my lips.

She forces me to pop my lips a few times and blot with a tissue she's pulled out of nowhere. "Thank Merlin that you did your hair at a half decent time or else we would be late." Emma says. She steps back and looks at me from farther away, "Perfect!"

I stand up and go over to one of the mirrors in our dorm. It really is perfect. I don't think I've ever looked this good before. Draco's right, I do look like my mother. I turn so I can see the back of my dress. Even with my haired curled quite a bit more than usual it still cascades down my back.

"Could you help me with my tie?" Draco says coming up beside me.

I look at him and smile, "You're going to have to learn how to do it yourself one of these days." I take the two ends of his tie and quickly tie them together, I pull it tight and secure it into place.

"Why learn how to do it when you can do it for me?" Draco says snarkily even though he's joking.

I ruffle his hair and he pulls back quickly, "Do you know how long it took me to get it to lie flat! Now look what you've done. He pushes past me so he can look at himself in the mirror. I go back over to my bed and sit down so I can put on my shoes.

Clarissa and Miriam say a quick goodbye to us and Walter comes into our room. Emma does his make up quickly muttering about how we are going to be late for the opening ceremony.

"Okay finally. Let's go please." Emma says annoyed. She takes my hand and pulls me out of the common room. Draco dips off to go find Pansy, they decided to go to the ball together after all.

"Would you look at my boyfriend?" Walter sighs when we turn the corner. Fred, George, Angelina, and Lee are standing by the entrance to the great hall, faint music is flowing out of it.

Lee goes up to Walter and instantly kisses him very hard, "You should wear makeup more often." I can hear Lee whisper to him.

Even though Angelina is standing right beside Fred, looking stunning mind you, he can't take his eyes off of Emma. And everyone but Angelina seems to notice.

"Oh there's Elliott. I'll see you lot in there okay?" Emma pats my hand before letting go of me and walking over to Elliott. He's wearing a powdered blue set of dress robes and I can't deny that he looks amazing. I watch as Elliott pulls out a corsage and puts it around Emmas wrist. Fred's watching too.

"Holy shit Violet." George says. I turn and look at him. Butterflies in my stomach spring to life. George is one of the most attractive people I've ever seen, but George in dress robes is on a whole other level of attractive.

"A shame that we aren't attending this ball together isn't it? We would have been the most attractive couple here." I wink at him and the tip of George's nose goes pink.

"This seems to be a good of time as any to leave these two to talk. Come on Angelina." Fred takes Angelina's arm and leads her into the great hall. Walter and Lee follow after him.

"Are we seriously going to do this?" George asks. He takes a step closer to me and takes a hold of my hand.

"You're the one that started it." I hum. I take a step towards him as well sour chests are touching. With my heels on I'm the same height if not slightly taller than he is.

"You're not going to back down are you?" George whispers to me.

"When have you ever known me to back down?"

George huffs, then he softly bumps my nose with his, "Violet Lestrange. You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my entire life, and I am head over heels in love with you. Will you please do me the honour of coming to the Yule Ball with me... officially?"

My heart is beating so fast I swear that he can feel it. We've told each other that we love each other. Course we have. But neither of us have said that we are in love with the other person. And I don't know about you but that means a whole other thing. "You're in love me?" I whisper. We are so close that my breath bounces off of him and hits me in the face.

George moves so his hands are on the small of my back, I wrap my arms around his neck, "Course I am. I've been in love with you for years. I never said it cause I thought you knew."

"I mean I knew but I didn't like know know. You know?"

George laughs, "Yeah."

"I'm in love with you too by the way. In case that wasn't obvious."

George kisses me softly and pulls away before it can get passionate, "It was very obvious but thank you for the confirmation."

"Ill go to the ball with you."

"What?"

"I never gave you an answer. Yes, I'll go to the ball with you."

"Bold of you think that you had a choice after all this."

I kiss him hard and passionately. He pulls me closer to him by the hips even though nearly every part of our body is already touching.

"Ahem."

George and I pull away from each other, his lips have a slight red stain to them from my lipstick.

McGonagall, the champions, and the champions dates are all standing behind us, looking at us with wide eyes. I can tell that Hermione is trying really hard not to laugh. Cedric looks uncomfortable. But no one looks as uncomfortable as Harry. His robes are far to big for him, and he's stiffly holding a girls hand.

"Mister Weasley... Miss LeStrange... I think it's high time that you two go find your seats."


	101. Part 4, Chapter 28

George and I run into the great hall laughing. We find our seats at the same table as Walter, Lee, Fred, and Angelina. Emma is sitting with a few other Beauxbaton students.

"Look, George, Percy's sitting all high and mighty up by the adults." Fred whispers. George and I look over at the big table set up at the front of the room and sure enough small Percy Weasley is sitting with all of the ministry people and headmasters.

"He looks like he's going to shit himself. Why is he pulling that face?" I whisper. Fred and George burst into laughter that can be heard throughout the whole room.

Percy glares at us. George waves at him. But he does that wave that involves just the fingers which makes us all laugh harder than before.

Finally, McGonagall comes into the room, followed by the four champions and their dates. Everyone in the room claps, a few girls have sour looks on their faces as Viktor walks past them hand in hand with Hermione Granger.

"She's beautiful," Angelina whispers, staring at Hermione walking past our table.

"Yeah, she really is." Fred whispers. I look at him but he's not looking at Hermione. He's staring across the room at Emma. She glances over at us but when she locks eyes with Fred she turns back around.

"Bet you a galleon that Fred's going to be leaving this ball with someone other than Angelina." I whisper into George's ear.

"Why? You've got plans to ditch me for my brother or something?" George whispers back.

I slap his arm and nod over at Fred, who's still looking over at Emma. Emma continues to look over at us every so often.

"Oh shit." George whispers.

"He looks like you every time you look at me." I joke.

George stifles his laugh, "Is that seriously how I look?"

There was a menu in front of each of us, and an empty plate. George picks up his menu and reads it to himself, then he says, "Steak!" and just like that a steak with a baked potato and beans appears on the plate infront of him.

Fred orders the same thing as his brother, Angelina and Walter get pork chops, and Lee and I get salmon with pasta.

"Do you think there's going to be live music or just some record that Hagrid found somewhere?" Lee asks with his mouth full of pasta.

"I may or may not have seen the Weird Sisters roaming the halls earlier today." Angelina says sipping her water.

"You're joking." George nearly shouts.

The rest of dinner went by quickly. Fred barley touched his food much to Angelina's surprise. Much to all of our surprise actually. If it's one thing I know about the Weasleys is that not once has any of them skipped a meal.

When the plates disappear Dumbledore stands up, followed by everyone else in the room. Without saying a word he flicks his hands and the tables go flying to the back of the room. He snaps his fingers and a big stage comes out from the floor and a drumkit and guitars appear on top of it.

The champions and their dates stand from the big table and step onto the dance floor that Dumbledore created. Just like Angelina said, the Weird Sisters step out onto the stage and everyone cheers and claps wildly.

"We have to stand here and watch those four dance don't we?" George whispers from behind me.

I nod a few times and lean into him. He wraps his arms around my waist and holds me close as the music begins. Harry, Fleur, Cedric, and Viktor, along with their dates start to move across the dance floor. All very graceful except for Harry.

"The poor kid." Angelina whispers beside us. Her and Fred are standing side by side but their not touching. Fred keeps looking between the dancing champions and Emma. Who is also not touching her date at all.

Once the song has ended, the Weird Sisters start to play a far more up beat song. Everyone around us starts dancing to the music, some better than others. George takes my hand and leads me away from our friends. We start dancing rather wildly to the music, not caring who was watching or what people thought.

Fred and Angelina come to join us after a moment, both of them seem to be in a much better mood. We all start dancing as crazy as we can muster, throwing our arms and legs in every which way.

"I don't think this is how its done." George says wiggling his arms back and forth.

I howl with laughter and I get a few strange looks from people around us. "How about this?" I shimmy towards him and George instantly puts his hands on my hips and sways to the beat with me.

"That was hot." He laughs.

"You're hot." I say back to him.

When the song ends everyone claps and cheers. The lead singer takes a sip of their drink and they start up another song.

"Ron looks awfully depressed." I say to George very out of breath.

George looks over his shoulder at his brother Ron, who's sitting beside a rather stunning girl and Harry Potter. "He fancies Hermione is all."

I look at George smiling, "He does? That's adorable."

George rolls his eyes a bit, "He's too much of a pansy to do anything about it."

"Seems like all your brothers are pansies when it comes to love."

"Just means that I'm the superior Weasley." George jokes. His smile nearly instantly fades from his face when he spots something behind me.

I turn to look and the youngest Weasley and only girl, Ginny, is dancing rather close, but also rather awkwardly with Neville Longbottom. I look back at George and his jaw clenches. "Oh let her have her fun. We were in third year once."

"Yeah and you remember what we were doing during third year?" George practically growls. His eyes follow his little sisters movements closely.

"Pecking each other on the cheek once in a while and holding hands till our palms got sweaty?"

George physically shakes himself out of the trance that he got himself into, "You're right. I'm going to go get us drinks yeah?"

"Something with current in the title please."

George smiles and pecks my cheek, "Obviously. You act like I don't even know you."

George goes off to the refreshment table that is set up just outside of the hall. I go over to Fred who is now standing alone, Angelina is dancing and laughing with Alicia, Winifred, Joycelyn, and Chelsea, the other Gryffindor girls in our year.

"So... you and Angelina?" I say. I stand beside Fred and look at Angelina dancing.

Fred laughs, "I told her, that I only really asked her to come to get Emma jealous. She was relived honestly. Told me that she never saw me as anything but a friend."

I nod and rock in my shoes a bit, "Emma's been staring at you all night you know."

Fred looks at me, "She has not."

"She looks at you when you're not looking at her. I've seen it."

"Liar."

"I'm serious. Like right now. She's looking over at us. She's sitting alone at a table, Elliott is talking with a few people from Beauxbaton, not giving her any attention at all."

Fred carefully looks over his shoulder and I watch Emma snap her head back around to the people on the dance floor. "What should I do?" Fred says still looking at her.

George comes back with two drinks in his hands. He passes me one and I take a sip. "You should tell her that she looks beautiful, that she's the prettiest one here. Then ask her to dance."

George takes a drink and looks between me and his brother as he does it. "What did I miss?" he says.

I shoot him a look that says 'don't say another damn word' and focus back on Fred, "She does look beautiful doesn't she?"

Fred smiles a little, "She's always beautiful."

"Tell her that." I whisper.

Fred turns red, George now has a huge smile on his face.

"What if she says no?" Fred whispers, "I can't be rejected."

I put my hand on his shoulder and squeeze it a little, "She won't. She wants to dance with you. Go tell her that you want to dance with her too."

Fred turns, takes the drink out of my hands, and downs it in one swig. He wipes his mouth on the sleeve of his robes and smiles triumphantly. "I'm going to go dance with Emma." He says.

"Hell yeah you are." George says looking at his brother with so much happiness in his eyes.

Fred snatches the drink out of George's hand as well and downs the entire thing. Then he turns around and walks straight over to Emma. George takes Fred's spot beside me and together we watch as the two of them talk for a moment. Then Fred gives Emma his hand... she takes it... and they go off to the dance floor together.

"How the bloody hell did you manage to get that to finally happen?" Walter says from behind us. Him and Lee come up and stand with us.

We all watch for a moment as Fred leads Emma in a very awful waltz but both of them are laughing and smiling the entire time. I step forward and turn around so I can see all my friends, "I'm very persuasive."


	102. Part 4, Chapter 29

At around eleven at night, the majority of the student body has disappeared out of the great hall. Fred and Emma are dancing very close together still. Walter and Lee are snuggling together on a set of chairs nearby.

George is talking about quidditch with Roger Davies while Fleur stands beside them looking bored with the entire thing. I excuse myself and go over to where Lee and Walter have set up camp.

"One of you go get Emma and Fred, we should go give the boys their present now before teachers call curfew," I say to the boys.

Lee yawns and groans but he gets up and goes to get Emma and Fred from the dance floor.

"Georgie! Let's head out." I call. George does some weird bro hug thing with Roger and comes over to where Walter and I are.

"Let's go exchange presents before curfew yeah?" I say when we are all together. Fred and Emma are still holding hands. The fact that Emma's head maybe comes up to the middle of Fred's chest makes my heart happy.

Everyone agrees and George takes my hand and we walk out of the great hall. We pass a few crying girls on the steps, and some couples that really should be doing what they are doing in the privacy of their dorm room.

We go out into the courtyard. Its lit up with lanterns which makes the snow on the ground look ridiculously soft. The cold air feels fantastic on our hot skin. We force Fred and George to sit on a bench, the four of us stand in front of them.

"We all pitched in and got you something to share. I hope you don't mind." Walter says. He pulls the rather large velvet bag full of money out of his pocket and tosses at Fred and George.

"Oh guys you really didn't have to do that." Fred says holding the bag.

We all smiles, "It was Violet's idea. A bloody brilliant one at that." Emma says gleaming.

Fred and George look at each other before Fred opens up the bag, "Oh no guys. No."

George peers into the bag that his brother is holding, "Are you mad? We can't take this." George says. His eyes are wide, he looks between us all. "We can't take your money."

"Theres 158 galleons, 36 sickles, and 25 knuts in there. We all pitched in, even Draco tossed in five galleons. We believe in you. You're going to have a fantastic business one day." I say to them both.

George stands from the bench and comes over to me, "Are you fucking kidding me right now?" He whispers.

"I knew you were going to do great things years ago when I made you that sign. You're meant for greatness George Weasley." I whisper back to him.

"I fucking love you guys." Fred says. He stand from the bench as well and pulls us all into a great big hug.

George grabs my face with both of his hands, "You amaze me." He says through a big smile.

"Likewise." I kiss him and all of our friends howl. But they weren't howling for me and George. I look over at Fred and Emma who were lip locked holding each other close.

"That's my handiwork!" I shout. Emma flips me off, still kissing Fred very passionately.

We all break away after that. Fred and Emma run off somewhere together, Lee and Walter say their going to go on a walk. And George and I stay in the court yard.

"Your mothers going to hate that I've given you two money to support your antics." I say to George. We sit down on one of the benches. I lean my head back and look up into the stars, "She'll never let be back into the house."

"Are you mad? Mum loves you more than she loves me half the time." George looks up at the sky too.

"You know that nearly everyone in my family is named after a star?" I sigh.

I don't look at him but I know that George is now looking at me. "Oh yeah?"

"Except me. My mother named me after my great-great grandmother Violetta Bulstrode."

George doesn't say anything for a while. "I'm pretty sure that means that we are distant cousins."

That catches my attention. "I beg your pardon?" I look over at him, George has the same expression on his face that I have on mine.

"Your great-great grandmother married Cygnus Black right?" I nod a few times, "Cygnus Black is the brother of my great grandfather Arcturus."

My brain feels like its going to explode. "I don't know of an Arcturus on our family tree... There is a burn out in that generation though..."

George nods, "Dad always said that his grandfather Arcturus was fond of muggles and how they function."

I shudder, "So we're... what does that make us? Third cousins or something?"

George and I both look at each other in both shock and horror. "Our children are going to be messed right up aren't they?" George says.

I nearly choke on my own spit, "Children...? You think about having children with me?"

George smile falters a little, "Course I do. Five kids specifically, hopefully a set of twins because I want my kids to experience the same bond that Fred and I have. Don't you think about that stuff too?"

"I mean yeah course I do." Pause, "I'm sorry I just can't stop thinking about the fact that we are related. And now that I think about it, I think I'm related to Crabbe too... and Neville if you go back far enough."

"I think you're related to Harry as well... I mean, we're related to Harry." George puts his head in his hands and groans really loudly.

"Why the hell did you have to say anything! Now I feel weird!" George and I start laughing really loudly.

"All the pure blood families are related and intertwined some how, cause they don't marry anyone who's not pure." George says.

"God what a weird world we live in."

"You still love me right?" George says.

I peck his cheek, "Obviously."

"Good because I don't think I could handle losing a girlfriend and a cousin in one day."

I pretend to vomit and George laughs, "Never say those words to me ever again."

"What? Girlfriend?"


	103. Part 4, Chapter 30

The happiness that was floating through the air after the Yule Ball dissipated almost immediately after the holidays were over. Almost all of that was thanks to none other than Rita Skeeter.

"Half giant? I just thought he messed up an engorgement charm or something when he was younger." George says to Lee and me during our potions class Monday morning.

"How did Rita Skeeter even manage to get Draco to comment?" Lee asks. Both George and Lee look at me as if I know.

"Not a single clue how he's managed to get himself in the paper. That boy just manages to get himself in the middle of everything and anything no matter what."

Snape comes walking over to us and we all start to pour over the notes we are supposed to be copying out of the textbook. He stops behind us for a moment before circling around the table that Cedric, Bentley, Nicholas, and Philip are sitting.

"Do you think that Hagrid is still at school though?" Lee whispers.

George clinks his quill against his inkpot, "Haven't the foggiest. I'll ask Ron tonight I suppose."

"My uncle's not going to be very pleased with all this." I mumble, not really wanting anyone to hear me.

"No offense, but fuck your uncle." George whispers which makes me smile.

"Trust me, none taken."

Snape moves back to the front of the room, "I need a ten foot long composition from each of you on the Polyjuice potion... the history... the ingredients... what can and cannot be done with it... everything. I need it completed by next class. You're dismissed."

George's mouth falls open, "Ten feet? On one bloody potion?"

Snape looks at George with a pungent look, "Mister Weasley. That will be fifteen feet for you and your smart mouth." The class oohed and George looks absolutely furious.

"Can't I just write 'you're a horrible teacher and will never find love' for fifteen feet?" George huffs as we leave class.

"Fifteen feet isnt' even that bad. Its only like... sixteen muggle pages." Lee says.

George and I both look at him, "How do you know?" I ask.

Lee shrugs, "I was complaining about a five foot composition at the beginning of the year and Walter got mad at me because that's the equivalent of five and a bit muggle pages."

George shakes his head in disbelieve, "Alright then I won't complain around Walter. But you can't tell me that it isn't mad. I don't even think I have that much parchment left to write on at this part of the year."

"You can borrow some of mine G, I have loads." I say to him. George and Lee walk me back to the Slytherin common room so I can grab my things to get started on the new composition we have to do, along with all my half finished compositions for my other class. When we turn down the hall that the common room is in we are face to face with Fred and Emma making out. Fred's got Emma pinned up against the wall, her arms are wrapped snugly around his neck.

"Oi! Mind doing that somewhere else?" Lee shouts.

Fred and Emma part, Emma wipes her mouth on the back of her sleeve a little. "You're just jealous!" Fred says laughing. Emma giggles behind him.

"Wally and I have the decency to do all of our heavy petting behind closed doors." Lee says sticking his tongue out at him.

"What are you lot doing down here anyways?" Emma asks. She's wearing one of Fred's jumpers which is absolutely massive on her.

"Violet has to get her things, we have a ten foot composition for potions due in a week." George says.

"Unless your Georgie, then its fifteen." I say. I squeeze past Fred and Emma and put my hand on the wall, "Pureblood." The door opens underneath my hand. "Em come with me."

Emma goes up on her tiptoes and gives Fred a peck on the cheek before coming with me into the common room. Once the door closes behind us I look at her with big eyes, "That didn't take very long."

Emma giggles again, her face goes a dark shade of red, "I'm really happy with him." We walk down the girls corridor and into our dorm.

"No really? I could have sworn that your right miserable." I joke. Emma tosses a pillow off her bed at my head.

"It's not weird that our friend group is all dating each other now is it?" Emma sits on her bed cross legged.

I shove a parchment canister full of my unfinished compositions in my school bag. "I don't think so. It might get weird if any of us decide to break up with each other though."

I look over at Emma and she's got her hands by her face, smelling the jumpers sleeves. "Do you think that he's told his mother about me yet?"

I change out of my school robes and put on jeans and a tee-shirt for the Weird Sisters that George bought for me over the summer, I tuck it into my pants and buckle my belt around my waist so it stays in place. "Molly? If Molly knew about you, you would have gotten a letter."

Emma huffs, "Guess not then. Hey, wouldn't it be crazy if you and George got married, and Fred and I got married. We would be sisters!"

I put my very loose tie over my neck and finish packing up the textbooks and things I need to study from, nearly forgetting the parchment container that has all my empty parchment in it. "You're already thinking of marriage? You've been together for what? Two weeks?"

Emma sighs, "I just can't help it! He's so perfect. I mean come on, you must be thinking about marrying George all the time."

"Honestly? I never really thought that far ahead. I've just been going where ever life takes us. George's thought about it long and hard apparently though. He's already decided that we are going to get married and have kids some day."

Emmas mouth falls open, "He said that? He's planned kids with you?"

"He wants five. He wants some of them to be twins so they can have the same bond that he and Fred has." I hike my bag over my shoulder and sigh, "I sort of love the idea of having a really big family though. I never had one of those. And the Weasleys all love each other so much."

Emma squeals, "You and George would make the cutest children. All I'm imagining is a little red head mini you with George's nose running around."

"Only multiply that by five." I nod towards the door and Emma and I head back out to the corridor outside the common room. Walter and Lee are whispering sweet nothings to each other. The twins are arguing about something in hushed tones.

"What are you two on about?" Emma asks Fred.

Fred stops talking and looks at her, "Nothing important. You have your things?"

Emma nods, she takes Freds hand in hers and they start walking in front of the group to the library. Walter and Lee follow behind them, George and I are in the back.

"Alright tell me. What was that all about?" I ask George.

George sighs, "We're trying to get ministry approval on a few of our things so we can start selling things to a wider audience. Not just people in Hogwarts. Its turning out to be a lot more difficult than we thought. Especially with dad and Percy working for the ministry."

"Do you think I could help at all?"

George lifts my hand up to his mouth and kisses my knuckles, "Unless you have the power to tell Fred that our canary creams are not something that the ministry will approve of, at least not now then you can't."

"Are those the sweets that you've been handing out to every Gryffindor student? The ones that turn you into a bird for an hour?"

George giggles like a school girl, "So you've heard of them?"

I roll my eyes, "Yeah, I heard about them from Draco of all people. Interesting how I didn't hear about them from my own boyfriend."

"George didn't want to tell you because he knew you would have wanted to try one and we haven't gotten the exact recipe solidified yet!" Fred calls from ahead of us.

I look at George and he smiles, "You make a very cute human, I wouldn't want you to turn into a bird."

"I'd be a really cute bird though."

George laughs, "Course you would. But if it didn't change you back after an hour then I'd be stuck dating a bird."

"So you're saying that you wouldn't love me anymore if I was a bird?"

"I- when did I say that?"

I pretend to be seriously offended, "Well it's good to know that you only love me if I'm in a human form."

George is beyond confused. We reach the third floor and head down the corridor towards the library. "Are you seriously offended that I wouldn't want to spend the rest of my life with a bird?"

I laugh, "Course I'm not. And I give you my blessing, if I ever turn into a bird for longer than an hour, or any animal for that matter, you're allowed to find love somewhere else. I'll go off and find myself a cute little lady bird to spend my life with."

George raises his eyebrows, "A lady bird?"

"Oh shit right, I never told you. I'm attracted to boys and girls."

George nods, "Yeah me too."

I high five him and he laughs, "Look at us go. Two bisexual wizards madly in love."


	104. Part 4, Chapter 31

February twenty-fourth, the second Triwizard task. Our herbology class that takes place Friday afternoons was cancelled so we could all be there to support the champions. We haven't seen much of Fred and George today, both of them have been running around the school taking bets from people.

"You and George talk about serious stuff, right? Like he knows everything about you and you know everything about him?" Emma asks me as we are walking down to the lake to watch the second task.

"Yeah course. It took a bit to get to that point I suppose but we've always told each other everything no matter what." I look at Emma and I can tell that she is deep in thought. "Are you and Fred alright?"

"Yeah, I think. He never really tells me anything important though. Just that he thinks I'm pretty and then we kiss a lot."

"Fred and George are very different people and it took me a while to get to know both their personalities. Fred's got a big wall up around him, and once you get past that wall there's another, and another, and another. He's got a hard time trying to tell people things that aren't jokes."

Emma sighs, "It's not what I thought it would be. Dating him. I thought it would be like you and George, you're perfect for each other."

We get to the lake shore and start to climb up one of the two towers that has been set up for the event. "Just don't give up on him. Fred means well and I really don't want to see him get hurt... But also I don't want to see you get hurt either... How about you don't hurt each other?"

Emma laughs, "Right yeah thanks Violet."

"Oi! Over here!" Walter calls. He and Lee are sitting on the third floor of the tower, they've got their things on four other seats in the same row as them.

Emma and I walk over to them. I give both Walter and Lee a peck on the cheek. "So do we know what this one is actually about?" I ask the boys.

"Ron said that he was asked by McGonagall to participate. Something about being tied under the water and waiting for rescue. He and Hermione both were taken out of the common room early this morning."

"If Snape ever asked me to be tied down under water waiting for someone to save me I would laugh in his face." I say.

"Dunno, it might be romantic. Fred risking his life to save mine and all." Emma sighs.

I look at her with my face full of disgust, "But your life wouldn't be in danger. The people the champions have to save are probably all under some sort of enchantment that makes it totally safe for them to be under water for so long. If Fred was competing there would be a very good chance that he could die."

Emma rolls her eyes and mumbles 'your no fun' under her breath. Someone puts their hands over my eyes from behind me and I jump. I know its George by the way he smells though so I smile instantly.

"How'd it go?" I ask him.

He doesn't bother walking all the way around so he just jumps over the empty seat he's standing behind and plops down in it. He kisses me quickly and smiles, "As long as Harry doesn't win again we're laughing."

"How many bets does Harry have?" Emma asks. She looks at Fred when she's talking but its George that responds

"Hundred and fifty. His performance in the first task clearly won over the hearts of the school. Cedric's sitting at seventy which is a pretty intense drop from the last task."

"Good for Harry I suppose." Walter says.

"If Harry wins then we only walk out with ten galleons. If Cedric wins we walk out with a hundred seventy." George explains.

"And if Fleur wins we walk with two hundred and ninety. So let's hope she does better than she did last time." Fred says happily.

"Fred mind helping me with something really quick?" I ask him. Everyone sort of looks at me strangely but Fred nods and we head down the tower together.

"Whats up? Did George do something to you? Do I have to talk some sense into the fucker?" Fred says as soon as we are alone.

"What? No nothing like that. I wanted to ask how things are with Emma?"

Fred nods, "Oh." He leans back on one of the pillars that are holding the tower up, "I dunno. I thought it would be different than it is. When we were friends she was this great person, super easy to talk too and everything. But as soon as we started hanging out? Cause I haven't asked her to be my girlfriend yet..."

"You haven't?"

Fred shakes his head, "No I haven't. I want to take things sort of slow with her cause if we end up dating, she would be my first ever girlfriend and I don't want to fuck it up. And George and I are swamped with trying to get ministry approval on things that I don't think I even have time to figure out my real feelings for her you know?"

I sigh, "I get it. Feelings are hard. I still have trouble with telling people how I'm feeling. Half the time its George who notices how I'm feeling first and he tells me what he thinks. Only then do I notice."

"George is good like that. He does the same to me." Fred smiles, "Dunno how I was the one that ended up emotionally stunted instead of him but whatever." Fred yawns and stretches his arms above his head, "I wish I could talk to Emma the way I talk to you. But I guess its because there's no pressure to be a certain way when I'm talking to you cause you're dating my brother and everything."

I put my hands in the pockets of my long black coat, "I think you just think that there is a certain pressure on you when it comes to Emma because we've all been pushing for you two to get together for so long. I'm sorry about that."

Fred stands up from the pillar and wraps me in a big hug, "You're the one that helped me step out of my shell a bit, don't be sorry for that." He says. His voice vibrates through the ear that is pressed against his neck.

"I know its going to sound cheesy and everything. But try just talking to her like you talk to me. No pressure, no reason to feel awkward or uncomfortable." I pull away from him and smile a bit.

"What if she doesn't like who I really am? The only people that truly know me are you and George honestly."

I put both my hands on his shoulders, "Then she's not the person for you. I love Emma with my entire being but if she ever makes you feel that you have to hide a certain part of you then you have to walk away."

Fred nods a couple times so I know that he understands what I'm saying, "How did George manage to land a girl like you?"

I laugh and take my hands off his shoulders, "I don't even think he knows the answer to that question."

Music starts to play and the crowd that's gathered into the towers start to cheer. "Sounds like the second task is starting." I take Freds hand in mine and we walk back up to our seats again.

Fred sits beside Emma and puts his arm around the back of her chair. I take my seat beside George. I curl up into my big jacket and rest my head on his shoulder. He puts his arm around me and squeezes me once, "Everything alright?"

"Your brother is a very emotionally stunted man." I whisper.

George laughs, "I know that much. But is he alright?"

I peer over at Fred and Emma who are leaning their heads together and I smile, "He's gonna be fine."

George kisses the top of my head and I can feel him breathe out in relief, "Thank you. For looking out for him like you do." He whispers.

"Course. That's what family is for."


	105. Part 4, Chapter 32

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the second task of the Triwizard Tournament!" Mister Bagman's voice rings throughout the stands. "This task is just as dangerous if not more dangerous than the first because it does not just involve the champions!"

The crowd oohs and aahs in anticipation, "Something extremely important was taken from each champion last night and has been hidden at the bottom of the lake! The champions have one hour to retrieve their prized possession from the depths!"

"How the bloody hell are they supposed to breathe underwater for a whole hour?" Walter says. A girl from Beauxbaton hushes him.

"And now that all of our champions are here, we are ready to begin! They have one hour exactly to resurface with what has been taken from them. On the count of three!"

"One..." We all count together, "Two..." George squeezes me again, "Three!"

A high pitched whistle rings out and we can hear four splashes that I can only assume are the contestants jumping into the water.

Lee and Wally stand up and go to the rain around the edge of the platform, "You can see them! It looks like Viktor turned his head into a shark!" Walter says excitedly.

"They've gone deeper... so now we are what? Supposed to just sit here for an hour staring at a lake?" Lee says clearly not very impressed with the whole situation.

"I brought exploding snap cards?" George says. He squirms in his chair and I move away from him a bit so he can get to his coat pocket easier.

"I've also got some canary creams we can feed to people." Fred says.

George looks over at him, "Are you kidding? You've brought the rest of our supply here of all places? Ludo is down on the ground right now, we can't have him see we've been feeding people those."

Fred rolls his eyes, "You're no fun anymore."

We decide to play a few rounds of exploding snap much to everyone else on the platforms annoyance. But what else were we supposed to do? Sit here and stare at the water?

A splash from the water gets everyone's attention. "Its Fleur!" Someone shouts. We all scramble to the railing of the platform so we can see what's going on.

"She doesn't have anything with her! Did she fail?" Emma gasps.

We watch in a sort of silent horror as Madam Maxine helps her out of the water and swaddles her in towels. "Fleur Delacour has returned empty handed and thus failed the task!" Mister Bagman shouts. The Beauxbaton students groan loudly.

Fred rushes back over to his seat and pops open the small trunk that he and George have been using for the bets. He pulls out a long roll of parchment and licks the top of his quill. George goes over to him and they start crossing off the people that bet on Fleur.

"The poor girl just can't catch a break can she?" Lee says.

"Whats going to happen to the person they took from her?" I ask.

Everyone grumbles a different version of 'no idea'. Once we realize that no one else is coming back to the surface for at least another half hour we all sit back down in out seats.

"I wonder if you could see whats going on from the Slytherin common room? Given that half of it is made out of glass looking out into the lake." Emma says out loud.

Everyone looks at her, "Why the bloody hell didn't you think of that before hand? We all could be down in the dungeons warm and cozy actually seeing whats going on!" Lee moans.

I look around the crowd and notice that there aren't very many Slytherins around. "Looks like our whole house thought of that. So the lion heads wouldn't have been able to sneak in anyways." I say.

Lee, Fred, and George all look at me. "The lion heads?" George asks with a smile.

I shrug, "That's what Slytherins tend to call the Gryffindors. Cause you're all loud and obnoxious just like when a lion roars. And well, your mascot is literally a lion."

"Ravenclaw we just call little birdies or literally anything other than ravens, and we've been calling Hufflepuff Winnie the Pooh for a while now, ever since someone found a muggle story book called Winnie the Pooh in the library during our first year." Walter adds on.

"Doesn't Gryffindor have nicknames for the other houses?" Emma asks the boys.

They all look at each other awkwardly, "Claws, Puffs, and well... assholes." Lee says.

"Course we don't call Slytherin assholes. Given our best friends are Slytherins and all."

Emma, Walter and I look at each other, "Mmhmm sure." Walter says jokingly.

Splash.

"It's Cedric! And Cho Chang!" Someone shouts. We all go back to the railing and watch Cedric and Cho swim from the middle of the lake and to the dock. Dumbledore and Madam Hooch helps them up out of the water and they are rushed off to get warmed up.

"Its Krum!"

Viktor and Hermione pop their heads up out of the water as well, Viktor's head morphs from a shark back into his normal human face. They also swim over to the dock and are helped up by the headmasters.

"Well, well, well! Hogwarts champion Cedric Diggory in first place! Followed by Durmstrang champion Viktor Krum! Good job gentlemen!" Mister Bagman announces.

"Yes!" Fred and George shout at the same time.

"A hundred and seventy galleons!" George grabs me and spins me around a few times laughing.

"Look! Harrys got Ron!" Lee shouts.

Fred and George look at each other, "Ah, right. Forgot that he was down there." Fred shrugs.

"He's got someone else too, look!" I say pointing down at the lake.

Its not hard to figure out which one is Ron, his red hair is still the brightest thing in the dark lake even when its wet and got seaweed in it.

"You think Harry saved Fleurs person too?" Emma asks.

"That's the only thing that makes sense."

All the teachers scramble to help get the three of them out of the lake and into towels and blankets. It takes a while to get another announcement from Mister Bagman.

"Do you think they're going to disqualify him? He was out of the time frame?" Emma asks. She brings her hands to her face and blows hot air on them to warm herself up.

"They'll probably make an exception. He's Harry Potter after all. The rules don't apply to him." I say.

"Dumbledore's favourite pet." Walter says in agreement.

George laughs and pulls me into his chest, "And you wonder why we call you lot assholes. The kid just saved two people."

"And one of them happens to be our brother." Fred says.

Walter looks at him, "The brother you forgot was down there?"

Everyone laughs, he's got a point.

We can hear Mister Bagman clear his throat and the entire crowd goes quiet, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our decision. Merchieftainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have therefore decided to award marks out of fifty for each of the champions as follows."

"Merchieftainess?" George whispers. I snicker but I try to hold my laugh so I don't disrupt anyone else.

"Miss Fleur Delacour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the bubble-head charm, was attacked by Grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to receive her hostage. We award her, twenty-five points."

"Twenty five points for a failure? I wish Bagman was the one grading all our work." Fred says. Everyone applauds politely for Fleur.

"Mister Cedric Diggory, who also used the bubble-head charm, was first to return with his hostage, though he returned one minute outside of the time limit of an hour."

"Oh wow one whole minute." George says. The happy cheers from the Hufflepuff students are loud.

"We therefore award him forty seven points."

Every Hogwarts student cheers wildly. Fred and George are ecstatic because 'who can beat forty seven out of fifty!'

"Mister Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of transfiguration, which was nevertheless effective and was the second to return with his hostage. We award him forty points." Another wave of cheers from the crowd. At this point the twins are bouncing up and down on their feet thinking about all the money they've just made.

"Mister Potter used Gillyweed to great effect." Mister Bagman says.

"Here it comes boys. Good luck." Lee says clapping both the twins on their backs.

"He returned last, and well outside the time limit of an hour. However, the Merchieftainess informs us that Mister Potter was first to reach the hostages, and that the delay in his return was due to his determination to return all the hostages to safety not merely his own."

I look at the boys who's smiles are faltering slightly, "Told you. Harry Potter is above the law when it comes to Hogwarts. I say to them.

"Most of the judges... feel that this shows moral fibre and merits full marks."

"Fuck!" Fred and George scream in unison.

We look down at the judges and they are looking up, trying to figure out who yelled that. "However..." Mister Bagman continues, "Mister Potter's score is forty-five points."

Everyone but the Durmstrang students are cheering loudly. Though I'm sure that most of the noise is coming from Fred and George who are now a hundred and seventy galleons richer.

"The third and final task will take place at dusk on the twenty-fourth of June. The champions will be notified of what is coming precisely one month beforehand. Thank you all for your support of the champions."


	106. Part 4, Chapter 33

The next day we all wake up earlier than we would have wanted to go to Hogsmeade. I think that Emma and Fred spoke after I talked to him yesterday because the two seem a lot less awkward around each other.

"Your brothers found a stray dog to love," Emma says nodding over at Ron, Hermione, and Harry. The three of them are following behind a rather large black dog.

Fred and George aren't phased by it but something doesn't sit right with me. I shake it off and follow my friends down the snowy road. None of us have any money to spend so we plan on just walking aimlessly all day talking about life and things.

It's a few hours till we see Ron, Harry, and Hermione walk past us again, the dog that they were following is sitting on the outskirts of the shops. I look at it and it looks at me.

"I'm going to be right back darling," I say to George. I peck him on the cheek and disappear into the crowd before he could say anything else.

I squeeze past a group of giggling Beauxbaton students and walk towards where I saw the dog sitting. When I get there, of course, the dog has disappeared. Thankfully for me though there's still snow on the ground and I follow the tracks that it's left. I follow the trail to the rocky base of a mountain. The tracks head into a small hole that you can only really see if you're looking for it.

I take a really deep breath to calm my nerves and squeeze inside. There, sitting in the middle of the cave, on a pile of old newspapers is not a dog. But a very skinny man with long matted hair.

"Bellatrix?" The man whispers.

My heart is beating a mile a minute, I should not have come here. "How do you know my mother?" I say quietly.

The man slowly stands up from his spot on the floor and takes a step closer to me, "Your mother...?" The man looks just as confused and scared as I am. "I didn't know that Bellatrix had a daughter."

"How do you know my mother." I ask again. I say it more confidently than before.

The man just stares at me, "I'm her cousin." He says finally.

My heart starts to beat faster again, "You're not... you're Sirius Black?"

The man smirks and bows really low to the ground with his arms spread wide, "In the flesh." He straightens his back the best he can in the small cave, "Who are you?"

"Violet LeStrange. Daughter of Bellatrix Black and Rodolphus LeStrange." I say. I put my hand out for a handshake. Sirius hesitates before shaking my hand a few times.

He looks at me for a long while then he blinks a few times, "Sorry, you just look so much like your mother. Her and I were very close when we were kids. She was like the sister I never had."

"Sounds a lot like Draco and I." I tell him, "My aunt Narcissa and her husband, my Uncle Lucius took me in once my parents were sent to Azkaban."

Sirius flinches at the word Azkaban. "Oh I'm sorry I totally forgot, you were in there for a long time. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable." I say.

Sirius smiles, "You even sort of sound like her... before she got involved with Voldemort."

"I'm not quite sure if that's a good thing or not." I say with a light laugh.

Sirius smiles and laughs himself, "Bellatrix was a sweet girl when we were all growing up together, but she dealt with the Black family pressure differently than I did... clearly."

"She became the Dark Lords right hand woman and put him before her own child, while you were burnt out of the family tree and lived a very happy life from what I've heard."

Sirius laughs again, "Yeah it was pretty good, till the whole... war and things."

"Yeah that must have put a damper on things."

Sirius and I look at each other awkwardly, "Please! Sit down, tell me about yourself! I would love to get to know you, the cousin I didn't know I had."

Sirius sits back down on his bed of newspapers and I sit on a nearby rock. "Well I'm sixteen, nearly seventeen. I'm in sixth year, taking five NEWT classes. I want to be a home tutor."

"Five NEWTs? That's a lot of school." Sirius says shocked.

I shrug, "I was top of my class OWL year so Dumbledore let me take five NEWTs."

"Wow, that's impressive. I got none of the smart genes I can tell you that one for free."

We laugh together a bit. I look around the cave, "Do you live here?"

Sirius looks around the cave with a smile on his face. "Only recently. I was living with my boyfriend for a long while but then Harry... my godson, was put into the Triwizard tournament so I wanted to be close to him."

"Boyfriend?" I say with a big smile on my face.

Sirius' cheeks go pink a little, "Remus. Or uhm, you know him as Professor Lupin."

"Oh! Nice one." I say laughing.

Sirius smiles, "I saw you with that red haired boy. Safe to say that he's your boyfriend?"

I nod a bunch, "Yeah, that's George Weasley. I met him and his twin brother Fred on the train before my first year. George and I have been together since... third year."

"A Weasley? Lucius must not be too happy about that one."

"He's not. The deal is that I have till the end of my schooling to do whatever I want, but after I'm done at Hogwarts I have to become a Death Eater." Sirius opens his mouth to speak but I keep talking, "Aunt Narcissa says its what my mother would have wanted me to become. Marry a pure blood wizard that shares the same beliefs as our family and raise a few pure blood wizards of my own and teach them the ways of the Dark Lord and what have you."

Sirius thinks long and hard before he speaks again, "Do you want to do that? Support Voldemort for the rest of your life?"

"Not in the slightest. But if I disobey them... well you know. I won't be able to speak to any of them again. I won't be able to protect Draco from his father."

"And Draco... he won't leave with you?" Sirius digs through the pocket of his ratty brown coat and pulls out a pack of cigarettes. He puts one between his lips and points the pack at me, "Want one?"

I take a cigarette out of the pack and hold it between my fingers, "Draco's scared of his father. Uncle Lucius bullies him every chance he gets so Draco doesn't give him anything to bully him for. Which means he follows his father blindly."

Sirius strikes a match on the stone wall behind him and uses it to light his cigarette. He shakes the match out and tosses me the pack of matches. I watch him take a long drag from the cigarette and release the smoke from his lungs slowly. "If you leave, with or without Draco. You can come live with Remus and I. For as long as you need before you get your life in order. I'll be there for you."

I light my cigarette and take a drag. My lungs instantly fill with smoke and I cough violently. "Why would you do that for me?"

"We're family." He takes another drag.

"You don't even know me."

Sirius blows smoke out of his nose this time, "I know enough."

We sit there in silence for a bit. Then the bell in town rings signalling that it's six o'clock and its time to go back to Hogwarts.

"I should get going. I can't be late." I toss the butt of my cigarette on the ground and squish it with the ball of my foot. I stand up and brush off the back of my coat. Sirius stands as well.

"If you need to, you can write to me. There are not many people that understand what you're going through. What all the Black children go through. But I'm one of them. You can rely on me." Sirius comes closer to me and takes both my hands in his, "I lost my little brother to the family pressures and Voldemort and all that bullshit. If I can, I want to save you from the same fate."

"Thank you," I whisper.

Sirius pats my cheek with his hand, "Get off then. McGonagall is going to lose her mind if you're late."

I say a quick goodbye and squeeze back out of the cave. I run through Hogsmeade, dodging a few shoppers. George, Emma, Walter, Lee, and Fred are all standing right by the gate that separates the Hogwarts grounds from Hogsmeade.

"Where the hell have you been?" George asks when I get to him. We walk past an angry-looking McGonagall that's holding the gate open for us.

"Why do you smell like cigarettes?" Walter says scrunching up his nose.

"I met up with an old friend. Don't worry about it."


	107. Part 4, Chapter 34

By the next day, all of my friends have forgotten about my disappearance from Hogsmeade. All except George of course who was getting very jealous over this fictional old friend of mine. So when it was just the two of us walking the halls I told him what actually happened.

"You saw Sirius Black?" George whispers.

I hit him because a few students are passing by us, "Don't say his name! And yes I did. I followed that dog that Emma saw your brother and his friends with. Turns out he's an unregistered Animagus and he's been in Hogsmeade for the past while so he's close to Harry if he ever needed to help him with something."

"He didn't tell you how he did it by any chance, did he? Become an Animagus? Because that would be so cool."

I roll my eyes, "Will you focus on one thing at a time for once in your life?" George mumbles an apology and I continue talking. "He said that if I ever decide to leave the family that I'm allowed to stay with him and Remus at their house. That he'll protect me till I get my things in order."

"You can stay with us at the burrow too you know," George says.

"Couse I know that but my aunt and uncle would check there first and you and I both know that. But staying with Sirius means that I could be who I've always wanted to be. We could have that big giant family that you want."

George nearly throws himself on top of me which makes me stumble and nearly fall over in the middle of the corridor, "So you're thinking about it? Taking up his offer once we're done here?"

I laugh, "As long as nothing too crazy happens it seems like a very real possibility. He even said that he would help Draco if I get him to come with me."

"What would be the craziest thing that has to happen for you to not leave your family?"

I throw my hands in the air, "I dunno! Like if someone dies. Or the Dark Lord comes back... something crazy."

George kisses my knuckles, "So basically you're going to leave and live the rest of your life with me and Fred at the joke shop."

I laugh, "Essentially yeah."

For the next week or so nothing too wild happened, except for that poor Hermione who was getting howlers nearly everyday that just shouted insults at her. Draco told me it was because of some article that Rita Skeeter published about how she's been playing with the hearts of both Harry and Viktor.

"Pansy's right upset about it you know. But course she won't let it show to anyone but me. Her and I have been staying up really late in the common room talking about it. It's more her talking about it than me but whatever." Draco says to me. We've been studying in the common room together all night.

"So you've been up all night talking about love and romance? That's not the Draco that I know." I say joking with him.

"My friend needs me and I like being needed. You surely don't need me with all the friends you've got."

I look up from my Herbology textbook. "You don't really think that way do you?"

Draco shrugs but he doesn't say anything. I put my hand on his shoulder and shake him a bit so he looks up from his Care of Magical Creatures notes, "You know that that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard right? You're one of the things I need most on my life you dumbass. You're my brother."

Draco smiles a bit, "I know."

"Then shut the fuck up about it. I love you dumbass. My little baby Dray Dray."

Draco looks at me, "Never say that to me ever again."

"Awh little Dray Dray got angry." I say in a baby voice.

"I'll kill you dead." Draco laughs.

I tackle him down onto the couch that we are sitting on and lie on top of him, "You'll kill me dead will you? Mister tough guy over here can't even stop himself from being knocked over and you'll kill me dead?"

Draco groans "Would you get off me!" He tries his hardest to push me off of him but I don't budge.

"Oh yeah look at me all dead and dying! Better watch out! Big man Draco Malfoy is coming to get you all!"

Draco shoves me harder and I crawl back over to my side of the couch. I look at Draco and his hair is a total mess. He looks at me and shoves me with his hand, "You're the worst person in the world you know." He tries to fix his hair.

"You would be so lost without me."

"Would not."

"Would too."

"Not."

"Would."


	108. Part 4, Chapter 35

March, April, and most of May was spent in the library struggling to understand why the hell I took five NEWT classes. George has been busy with Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes when he's not studying with me so I haven't seen much of him lately. I've also been writing to Sirius. Nothing important or anything but my owl Otis was getting a little stir crazy because I haven't been writing home so I thought I could write to Sirius. Speaking of writing I need to answer Molly's letter that she's sent me. She's asked if I can spend the summer at the burrow.

"Do you know anything about Hermy-own and Potter?" Naiden asks coming up to me in the halls as I wait outside the transfiguration classroom.

"Hermione and Harry?" I ask him. He nods. "No, I haven't got a clue. Viktor saw the article I suppose."

"He's not very happy about it. He really likes her." Naiden looks down the corridor, Ivan, Varban, and Viktor are walking towards us.

"Hi boys!" I say when they approach. They all smile and say hello to me, "I've been meaning to say, that partial transfiguration thing you did during the second task was genius. I never would have come up with that."

Viktor smiles, "Thank you. Your lake is very cold."

I laugh and the Durmstrang boys laugh with me. "Have you heard what the third task is going to be yet?"

"Ve are supposed to learn about it tonight after classes. It cannot be as bad as the dragons so I am not vorried."

McGonagall opens the classroom door, Harry Potter, Ron, and Hermione leave the class. Viktor excuses himself from us and goes over to Hermione.

"He's going to be late to class again." Ivan says watching Viktor and Hermione walk off, "Her-mone-ninny has been keeping him very busy."

"He has asked her to visit during the summer you know." Varban says.

Emma comes running through the hall, "Sorry I'm late! I was uhm, studying."

She's got a dark purple mark on her neck that we all noticed almost immediately, "Did your textbook give you that?" Ivan touched the mark on her neck with his index finger.

Emma goes a deep shade of red and we all laugh. "I should get myself a textbook like that." Naiden jokes.

We all walk into the classroom and take our seats. Lee comes running into the room in the same crazed way that Emma just came running over. He's also got a few purple bite marks on his neck.

"Vow, Hogvarts students study much different than ve do." Varban says.

I snort and Lee slides into a desk beside me, "I got a little distracted. McGonagalls not here yet is she?"

I look at both Lee and Emma, "It's literally first period! Did you two... did you four, skip breakfast and go straight to dessert or something?"

"Ignore her. She's just mad that her and George haven't been able to spend time together recently." Emma says to Lee.

Lee clicks his tongue and pats me on the back, "Don't worry Violet, you'll get yours soon."

I swat his hand away from me laughing, "George and I get plenty. And we've been getting ours for a lot longer than either of you have."

"That's what you think." Lee says.

Emma leans forward so she can see past me and actually look at Lee, "Do you have something you would like to share with the class Jordan?"

Lee winks at us, "Definitely not with the entire class that's for sure. But I might tell you some stuff later."

Emma whistles just as McGonagall comes into the room from her office. "Thank you for the introduction Miss Fay but next time try clapping. It's much more appropriate." McGonagall says. Emma shrinks into her chair and the entire class laughs.

McGonagall waves her hand at the bored and the chalk begins to draw a very advanced diagram. She turns to the class and smiles, "Who can tell me what garden gnomes were origionally made for?"

Nearly everyone in the room raises their hand besides Emma and Lee. "Holly?" McGonagall asks.

Everyone's hands go down, "They were origionally used to protect who ever uses them from evil." Holly says. She moves her head back and forth when she talks which pisses me off for no real reason.

"Ten points to Hufflepuff, well done Holly." McGonagall turns back to her board which now has a garden gnome drawn in the middle of it surrounded by complex equations and big words that I have no desire to try and read out loud. "Copy this into your notes. For the next three weeks we will be practicing on turning live gnomes into garden gnomes."

"That's awful!" Gryffindor student Chelsea Reedman cries.

McGonagall turns to look at her, "Awful?"

Chelsea puts her quill down and crosses her arms over her chest, "God this is going to be good." Emma whispers.

"Yes awful! Gnomes are living, breathing things! Using them to practice transfiguration on is cruel!" Chelsea says.

McGonagall blinks a few times, she looks like Chelsea just said the stupidest thing she's ever heard, "And how do you expect to learn how do human transfiguration next year when you won't practice on living things Miss Reedman?"

Chelsea doesn't say anything but she does open and close her mouth a bunch which makes Emma and I snicker with laughter.

"Five points from Gryffindor. Next time I suggest not doubting my teaching techniques?" McGonagall says to Chelsea. She nods and picks her quill back up and continues to copy down the diagram, "Miss LeStrange, Miss Fay? Do you find your peers getting scolded funny?" McGonagall says to Emma and I.

"A little bit yeah." I say to her. The look on her face is priceless. Cassius who is sitting a few desks away snorts into his cup of water.

"Five points from Slytherin." McGonagall says. "Finish copying this down and open your books to page one hundred and forty three."

At the end of class George comes into the room and comes over to my desk, "Hey beautiful, I've missed you." He says.

I finish shoving my things back in my bag, "I've missed you too. How's it going with your uhm..." McGonagall walks past us and we both look at her. "Your ghoul studies composition?"

George smiles, "We got some pretty good progress done today but we aren't anywhere near where Fred wants us to be."

Viktor comes up behind George and I clear my throat a bit. "You are in the house of lion correct?" Viktor says to George.

George looks down at his undone tie that's around his neck and back up to Viktor, "Yeah that's me."

"Do you know if there is anything occurring between Harry Potter and Hermy-own-ninny?" Viktor asks George. I can tell by the look on his face that he is very concerned with the happening of Hermione.

George looks at him confused, "Hermione and Harry? Nah nothing is happening."

Viktor raises his eyebrows, "And you are sure of this?"

George puts his hand on Viktor's shoulder but Viktor pulls away sharply, "Listen Krum. I'm not the one you should be asking about this stuff. Go talk to Harry if you're so nervous about it all."

Viktor nods one time and goes off with his friends. George turns back round to me and blows air out of his mouth hard. "He's so weird." George says.

I take George's hand in mine, "He's not weird. He's just worried that the girl he's falling for is falling for someone else." George pulls the classroom door open and we both walk out.

"If Harry and Hermione ever started dating Ron would simply pass away." George says laughing.

"I forgot that Ron fancies Hermione."

George goes pink, "I wasn't supposed to tell you that."

"You're not supposed to tell me a lot of things."

George sighs. "Ron told me about a week ago, said that I was the only one he trusted with the information and made me swear on mums life that I wouldn't tell Fred."

"You swore on your mothers life? What sort of swear is that?"

George looks at me, "Last time I checked you aren't Fred so technically I didn't break any promises or anything."

"Speaking of Fred, did you see what he did to Emma's neck?" We start walking down the grand staircase towards the great hall for lunch.

"Did you see what Emma did to Fred's back? It looks like he was mauled by a werewolf." George says. He cringes at the thought. "It looks like it hurts more than anything.

"I would never let you give me a hickey or anything like that." I say to him.

George laughs really loud, "I'm well aware of that fact. I'm always the one that is covered in them after we spend the night together."

"Not my fault that I like being in charge all the time." I wink at George and the tips of his ears go red.

"It's really fucking hot when you take control." George whispers to me so the people passing by can't hear.

"I'm not very hungry, I could take some control now if you want." I say to George. I bite my lip for an extra effect.

George tightens his grip on my hand and spins around on the stairs, "Excuse me! Pardon me! Out of my way please!" He shouts dragging me back up the stairs.

"We can't go into the Gryffindor common room George there's bound to be people in there!" I say laughing. We make it to the seventh floor and we are standing in front of the portrait of the fat lady.

"Let them listen. I don't care."


	109. Part 4, Chapter 36

Given neither of us had class after lunch George and I camped out in his dorm room for the rest of the day much to the rest of his dormmates annoyance. George let me change into some of his clothes so I didn't have to wear my school uniform.

"You're so fucking hot in my clothes," George says to me. He spins me around and holds onto my hips. "You're hot out of my clothes too."

"Really? Thought you'd be tired after the second round." I rub my thumb across one of the now very dark marks I've left on his neck.

He takes my hand and kisses my palm and looks right into my eyes as he does it, "Third times the charm am I right?"

He pulls me closer to him and attaches his lips to mine. He pinches my butt a little which makes me laugh. Someone pounds on the door and George groans, "There's a sock on the door for a reason!" He yells.

The door opens anyway. Fred comes in with his hand clasped over his eyes, "Are you two decent? Can I look?" He shouts.

I step away from George and sit on one of the trunks in the room. "You're fine Freddie." I say to him.

Fred spreads his fingers and peers through the gaps before he actually takes his hand away. "You two are so fucking loud the entire tower shook. There are other people that have to live here you know."

"Like you didn't have Emma up here this morning." George snaps.

Fred looks between me and George, "Okay well no one else was in the common room when we were up here and we definitely weren't as loud as you two. I don't think I'll ever be able to look at you in the same way George. Not after hearing the noises you make during sex."

I instantly burst into laughter, George looks very uncomfortable for a second before he figures out what to say back to Fred, "Don't even act like I didn't have to grow up listening to you jerk off two feet away from me. At least I have the decency to put a sock on the door."

My jaw falls open and I can feel my cheeks go red hot. The boys start arguing, talking at the same time and using wild hand gestures.

"You've been up here for hours! Kenneth needs his books to study!"

"Alright well that sounds like a him problem!"

"It's an every ones problem! Ginny is scarred for life hearing the noises coming from this room!"

"At least Ginny didn't walk in on me with my hand in my pants. That's more than you can say!"

"Hermione wanted to go tell McGonagall you had a Slytherin up here!"

"I would have loved to see McGonagall come in here and disrupt us!"

I'm starting to get dizzy from looking back and forth between the boys. "Guys seriously."

Fred is red in the face from yelling, George looks very amused with the whole situation, "We'll keep it in our pants for the rest of the night don't worry." George says.

"That's all I'm asking. That's all the ENTIRE house is asking." Fred says.

I stand up from the trunk I'm sitting on, "I should probably head back to my common room anyways."

George looks sort of offended, "You don't have to go. Stay till dinner."

"Nah I really should head out. I need to help Draco with his homework and he's got a free period right before dinner..." I look at the watch I always have on my wrist, "Which is like right now. He's getting out of potions soon."

I shove all the bits of my uniform into my school bag and put it over my shoulder. I go over to George and kiss him softly on the lips, "I love you." I mumble as I kiss him.

I go over to the door and lean in to peck Fred on the cheek, "Are you mad?" He says pulling away from me, "With the stuff you've been doing up here? I don't know where your lips have been and they are definitely not touching my face."

George snorts, "I'll walk you back to your common room love."

George comes over to me and pulls the door open. Almost as soon as the people in the common room down below can see us on the balcony the room goes quiet. Then Angelina starts clapping and hollering. Soon everyone else follows her lead. "I'm impressed Violet. I didn't know George's voice could get so high." Alicia says laughing when George and I get to the bottom of the stairs.

"I've learned more about you in the last few hours then I ever wanted to know." Angelia says. She looks at George with a big frown of disgust on her face. George laughs and pushes me out of the common room to avoid anymore harassment from his fellow housemates.

"I'm never going to hear the end of that I hope you realize." George says as we walk back down the staircase.

"Just wait till they notice you look like a leopard. I hope Molly's knitted you a turtle neck." I say to him.

George laughs, "Like I'll wear one of her sweaters on any day other than Christmas."

I pull the sleeves of the sweater of his that I'm wearing down over my hands and snuggle my hands under my chin, "But they're so warm and cuddly and cute."

"You make them cute."

Butterflies swell in my stomach. I've shown George the most vulnerable side of me and literally was rolling around naked with him like half an hour ago but every time he says something like 'you're cute' it makes me feel all warm and gooey.

"Shut up."

George looks at me with a crooked smile on his face, "You're blushing." He says stating the obvious.

"Shut up." I say again.

George laughs, "Do you know how happy it makes me knowing that I can make a girl like you blush like that?"

"A girl like me?" I look at him.

"A girl with such a tough badass exterior. It's even better knowing that I'm the only one that makes you blush."

I instantly frown, "That's disgusting." I say to him. George laughs, "No like that's really gross. I might vomit."

"You love hearing that crap. I know you do."

When we get to the dungeons George pulls me to the side, so we are hiding behind a big suit of armour.

"It's getting clearer. Clearer than before." I can hear Professor Karkaroff say. I maneuver myself so I can see who he's talking to. He's standing in front of Snape. He's got his robes pulled up to his elbow so Snape can see his forearm.

"Like I told you last week... It is not my top priority..." Snapes cold voice fills the corridor, echoing off the walls slightly.

"I've spoken to Lucius... He agrees, the Dark Lord is coming back." Professor Karkaroff snaps.

My heart feels like its caught in my throat. George grabs onto my hand in attempts to ground me before I start to have a total panic about things.

"Lucius tends to run his mouth about things... I wouldn't put him on such a high pedestal."

Professor Karkaroff cusses Snape out and marches away. Towards us of course because that's the sort of luck I've been having recently. I do the only thing that I could think of and start kissing George. Karkaroff passes by without a second glance.

"I have to go tell Emma and everyone else what just happened. If the Dark Lord is coming back..."

George nods, "Then it doesn't just affect you, it affects nearly every single person in your house."

I smile sadly at him, "Guess I jinxed it."

"What?"

"Something crazy is happening. The Dark Lord is coming back."

George brushes a piece of hair out of my face. "You don't know that for sure."

"I do though."

George pecks my cheek and I whisper a goodbye before I walk over to the common room entrance and open the passage. "Violet, where've you been?" Emma asks when I walk into the common room.

I ignore her question and clear my throat, "I need to talk to everyone in sixth and seventh year please?"

"Violet what's going on?" Emma says to me softly.

Everyone that is in the room that is in either sixth or seventh year come over to me. "What's this all about?" Adrian asks.

"I'm pretty sure the Dark Lord is coming back. Soon."

Everyone starts talking at once, "What do you mean soon? How soon?"

"How do you know?"

"Who told you?"

"Why should we even trust you?"

"Course we trust her, she's one of us. She was there during the riots, she's seen what we've all seen."

I start to get a little panicky. I wipe my sweaty palms on George's sweater. I take a deep breath and tell everyone what I just heard Professor Karkaroff and Snape talking about in the corridor. Told them that I saw Karkaroffs dark mark. That got everyone to shut up.

"So it's happening," Emma whispers.

I nod, "Happening a lot faster than we thought it would." I say to everyone. Clarissa looks like she's going to be sick. Cassius and Graham don't look the best either.

"So what do we do?" Miriam asks me.

I don't know when I was elected as the leader of the new Death Eaters but here I am. Everyone's eyes on me. "We watch the final task of the tournament. Then we go home to our parents and I dunno? Wait till they tell us officially I guess."

"I can't believe my whole life is being planned out for me. Like this is it. I'm going to have to be a Death Eater." Gemma says. She takes a hold of Terrence's hand.

Everyone sort of dissipates and goes back to what they were doing before I asked to speak to them all. Emma looks at me with sad eyes. "Does George know?"

I nod, "Yeah." My voice gets stuck in my throat making my voice crack, "He was with me when I overheard them talking."

"Fuck."

"Yeah."


	110. Part 4, Chapter 37

After what George and I overhead we entered another dry spell, only seeing each other during classes. But because exams are this week we don't really talk during class either. All the older Slytherins started walking around in packs, whispering about Death Eaters and things. Gemma wrote to her parents the night I told them what I heard and her parents practically confirmed our suspicions. The Dark Lord was coming back.

"Years almost over." Emma says, "I'm running low on ink." She picks up her inkpot and looks inside it.

"I have like half a pint left if ink. You can have some if you need." I say to her, not looking up at my notes.

"Wonder what the third task will be," Walter says casually.

"When even is the third task?" Emma asks him.

I dip my quill into my inkpot, "After the last exam." I look at my watch. "Fuck I have to go, I got my Potions exam in ten minutes." I put the stopper back into my inkpot and wrap my quill in a bit of fabric so it doesn't stain my books in my bag. I shove everything into my bag, get up, and push my chair back under the desk.

"Good luck!" Emma and Walter call after me in unison.

I race down the stairs and through the halls. "Sorry, excuse me!" I say to a bunch of second year students. None of them move out of my way. "I said move!" I snap. They instantly run in all directions to get out of my way. I continue to race through the hall.

SLAM.

Right into Hermione Granger. "Fuck sorry Hermione, I have an exam in about seven minutes."

"I've got one too." She says to me. We nod at each other and run in the opposite direction of each other.

"Jesus there you are!" George says when I turn into the dungeons. "Four minutes to spare."

"Hi love." I say breathlessly. I hunch over myself and take a few deep breaths. "I was studying in the library with Emma and Walter. Completely lost track of time." I take another few breaths, "Whew. Why is the library so far away from the dungeons?"

Lee and George laugh at me, "You're alright." Lee says.

Snape throws the potions classroom door open. Sixth year NEWT exam starts in three minutes... Leave your bags outside of the classroom... only bring in your inkpot and one quill... Find the desk with your name on it... No talking."

Everyone starts to search through their bags to pull out their quills and inkpots. "Good luck boys." I say to George and Lee. I kiss George on the lips quickly. "You're going to need it."

We file into the door, all sixteen of us and we find our seats. Snape practically floats to the front of the room and he turns around on his heels. "The exam is four hours in length... three hours for the written portion... one hour for the practical exam... You must answer your questions on the parchment provided... if you need more and I assure you that you will... raise your hand and I will send you some... Once you have finished the written exam I will give you a recipe for a potion that we have made in class... Just the recipe and the ingredients... no instructions... To pass you must brew the perfect potion..." Snape says coldly. "Begin."

The sound of paper rustling fills the classroom as everyone turns over the parchment that has all the questions on it. Fuck, this is a lot harder than I thought it would be.

Hour One: True or False and multiple choice questions about ingredients covered this year. Bezoar, Sopophorous bean, Sloth brain, Powdered root of asphodel, Valarian root, and Lacewing flies. Also short answer questions about Golpalott's third law. Two points for every correct answer.

Hour Two: Fill in the blank. Snape has provided the recipes of the nine potions that we've studied this year with missing ingredients and missing instructions. We have to choose six of them to fill out. One point for every correct answer.

I need more parchment. I put up my hand and Snape sends three new rolls through the air and they land on my desk. I take a deep breath, shake the cramps out of my hand, and pick up my quill again.

Hour Three: A composition on the complete history on the Draught of Living Death. Including where the ingredients are sourced from, the first wizard to brew it, and what/who the wizard tested it on. By far the hardest part of the exam given its nearly all memory and you really can't bullshit your way out of it.

Cedric's hand shoots into the air. Snape goes over to him, takes his exam parchment away from him and hands him a cauldron full of materials. Soon after a few other students do the same thing.

"You have ten minutes till you all have to be finished with the written portion of the exam." Snape says. The sudden burst of sound makes me jump. I quickly scribble the last sentence down and shoot my hand up.

Snape comes over. I stack my parchment up and hand it to him. He snatches it out of my hand, flips through it a bit, and places a cauldron on my desk.

I take the piece of parchment off the top of it and read it over a few times. Felix Felicis. The hardest potions we've studied. Fantastic.

I take all the ingredients out of the cauldron and line them up in front of me. Thankfully Snape has given us the right measurements for things. I rack my brain trying to think of what the first step is. George and Lee put up their hands at the same time to get their cauldrons.

First thing I do is juice the squill bulb and leave it in a small bowl to use later, then I chop up the growth. Which sounds a lot more disgusting than it actually is. The potion calls for one anemone like growth that is found on the back of most Murlaps. The last thing I do before actually starting on the potion is grinding up the occamy eggshell.

I glance up at the back of George's head. He's bent right over his desk, probably trying to remember the first few steps of his potion.

I pull the cauldron closer to me. The first thing I do is crack open the ashwinder egg and let the contents pour into the cauldron, then I scrape the horseradish in and put the cauldron on heat. I don't stir it yet though. If I do it would cause an explosion. As soon as the egg starts to bubble I take the cauldron off the heat and put in the juiced squill bulb. Then I stir, vigerously. Till it's a soft yellow colour and its all sticking together.

I put in the Murlap growth and put the cauldron back onto the heat. "Half an hour remaining." Snape says calmly. I wipe my forehead on the back of my hand and huff.

I sprinkle in tincture of thyme and start to stir slowly. The potion darkens to a mustard colour. I pull the cauldron off of the heat and it lightens a little bit. I then pour in the ground occamy eggshell and wait a moment. The colour changes again, it gets a little shinier. I put it back on the heat and start to stir. I time myself on my watch, exactly four minutes and three quarters. Then I add a pinch of powdered common rue and the potion literally starts to glow. It casts a golden light over my face and on my desk.

I look at Snape for a moment and I could have sworn that I saw him nod in approval. I take the cauldron off of the heat and start to stir very fast. The faster I stir the brighter the potion becomes. Soon the light is reflecting off of the ceiling and is literally lighting up the entire room. A few students look over their shoulders at me and Snape yells at them.

I put the cauldron back onto the heat, "Five minutes remaining!" Snape says.

I peer into the cauldron then at my watch. It has to boil for three minutes before I preform the final incantation.

Three.

Two.

One.

I turn off the boiler and take a deep breath. I draw a figure eight over the top of the cauldron with my hand and scream 'Felixempra' in my head given we aren't allowed to use verbal spells in classes anymore.

Snape comes over to my desk. He peers into my cauldron and then looks at me. He pulls a basil leaf out of his cloak and holds it above my cauldron. "The final test..." Snape says. He drops the leaf into my cauldron. It almost instantly turns into gold. It's perfect.

Snape fishes the leaf out with a ladle and places it on the desk in front of me. It clinks when it hits the table. "Congratulations Miss LeStrange." Snape says loud enough for the entire class to hear. "It appears that you've brewed the perfect batch of Felix Felicis... Bottle it up and take it with you."

I pull a few vials out of the desk drawer and start to bottle up my potion as Snape makes his way back to the front of the class. "Time is up... Potions off the broilers."

Snape takes his sweet old time walking through and testing each persons potions. By the looks of things I was the only one that had to brew Felix Felicis which sort of pisses me off. All but four people brewed the perfect potion, and thankfully George wasn't one of them.

I end up with eight vials of potion and I carefully carry them back out into the hall once Snape dismisses us.

"Mind if I bum one of those off you Vi?" Lee says eyeing the vials. "I've heard that liquid luck gives you a wicked high,"

I laugh, "Just don't tell people where you've got it from." I slip a vial into his pocket and wink at him.


	111. Part 4, Chapter 38

Mum, Dad, and Bill are here to cheer on Harry for the third task. We are in the Gryffindor common room with them now. You and Emma should come say hello. Appears on my arm the Saturday after my final exam.

I race into our dorm room where Emma is napping. I jump onto her bed and she groans, "Emma get up the Weasleys are here and they want to meet you." I say to her.

Emma rolls over in bed which nearly knocks me off the bed. "They're what?"

"Get up, would you? And put on that pale green dress you love so much." I hop off her bed and change out of my pyjamas and into a grey pencil skirt and a green blouse with a long bow in the front. I wrap my hair up into a bun and stick my wand in it to secure it all into place. By the time I get my shoes on Emma is fully dressed and ready to go.

"They really want to meet me?" Emma says.

"Guess Fred's been talking about you." I wink at her and we run out of the common room, or do our best to run given we are both wearing relatively high heels.

When we turn out of the dungeons I instantly see five redheads bobbing down the stairs, being lead by Harry Potter.

"Molly!" I call.

Molly's face lights up and she races down the stairs to meet me. She wraps me in a big hug, "Violet dear! It's so lovely to see you!" She puts her hands on my cheeks and holds me there for a moment. I'm towering over her so her arms are very outstretched. "You look so much older! And healthy! Have you been eating alright?"

"Mum please, enough with the third degree." George says laughing. He pulls me away from his mother and hugs me close to him.

"Well if she was around more often then I would have more time to ask her all my questions. Course that's not your fault dear, simply an observation." Molly says. She puts her hand on my arm and smiles warmly.

Fred pushes past his family and goes to stand beside Emma. "Mum, Bill... This is Emma... she's a good friend of mine." Fred says.

Emma looks up at Fred, a flash of hurt moves over her face. She shakes it off though and smiles at Molly. "Nice to meet you Mrs. Weasley, Bill. Fred, George, and Violet have told me such wonderful things about you all." Emma puts her hand out for a handshake but Molly ignores it and gives her a big hug instead. Emma looks at me over her shoulder and I can tell she's still not over the fact that Fred called her a friend instead of a girlfriend.

"It's always so nice to meet Fred and George's friends! It lets me know that these two aren't as awful as the letters from their professors make them out to be." Molly says beaming.

"We are getting a tour of the grounds from Harry. Care to join us?" Bill says, "Not like you don't already know your way around."

Emma and I agree to spend the day with the Weasleys. Ginny and I fill Molly in on all the latest gossip while Emma walks behind us in silence. Fred, George, Harry, Ron, and Bill are all talking loudly about something that I can't really be bothered to listen to.

"There you are, are you?" A man says when we walk past the great hall. Cedric is with him so I assume that he's his father. "Bet you're not feeling quite as full of yourself now that Cedric's caught you up on points, are you?"

Every one of the Weasleys, myself included automatically gets defensive. My hand twitches and the only thing I want to do it grab my wand from my hair. I think George knows what I want to do because he grabs a hold of my wand hand and holds it tight. We continue to walk past him, till he opens his mouth again.

"Didn't bother to correct her did he?" Cedric's father says loudly enough for us all to hear, "Still... you'll show him Ced. Beaten him once before, haven't you?"

Molly turns around on her heels and Bill's shoulders slump in defeat. "Rita Skeeter goes out of her way to cause trouble Amos!" she says angrily. "I would have thought you'd know that, working at the ministry!"

Bill puts his hand on his mothers shoulder and tries to steer her away from confrontation. The whole time however, he's staring at Fleur Delacour and by the looks of things she's staring right back.

Amos... Mister Diggory looks as if he's going to say something back but the woman he's with, I figure she's his wife whispers something in his ear and they continue to walk.

"You know what I've just noticed?" George whispers to me. We're now walking along the path in the middle of the Hogwarts grounds.

"What's that?" I say back to him in a hushed tone.

"You and my mum share the same quick, red hot temper. You're both ridiculously protective of people you love."

I look at the back of Molly's head. She's holding Ginny's hand and she's talking to Harry and Bill. "That's the nicest compliment I've ever received." I say to George with a smile on my face.

George looks around the small group. "Where did Emma and Fred head off to?" He says.

I look around, just noticing that the two aren't around anymore. "They're probably having a fight. Given Fred introduced Emma as a really good friend and all."

George laughs, Ron turns around to see what he's laughing at but doesn't say anything, "That was a pretty stupid move on his part. Seriously? A really good friend? They've been screwing for the past what? Four months or so?"

"Something like that yeah." I say smiling, "God he's such an idiot. I gave Emma to him on a silver platter and he still managed to fuck it up."

"Good old Freddie Weasley boys and girls." George says making me laugh.

We spend nearly the whole day talking and roaming the Hogwarts grounds. Harry shows Bill and Molly the Beauxbaton carriage and the Durmstrang ship. Molly is completely fascinated with the Whomping Willow that was planted after she left Hogwarts.

When the lunch bell rings we walk back into the castle, "Violet dear come eat dinner with us." Molly says.

"I have to go sit at the Slytherin table. But I'll definitely be sitting with you all during the final task." I say.

Molly gives me another one of her famous bear hugs and she takes Ginny and Ron into the dining hall. I give Bill a hug as well before he heads off.

George puts his hand on my hip to get my attention and I turn around to look at him. "I'll see you soon alright?" I say to him.

"Why can't you just sit with me at the table? Everyone in Gryffindor knows you've been in the common room."

I peck his lips a couple of times quickly, "I have to make sure that Emma is alright. And I have to check in on Draco."

George furrows his eyebrows together, "Check in on Draco? Why, is he alright?"

I pepper his face with more kisses, "I can't tell you that, strictly cousin information only."

I start to walk away from George but he holds onto my wrist and spins me back around. He flashes me a crooked smile before he kisses me, tongue and all right in the middle of the great halls doorway. "Now you can go," George whispers once he's pulled away from me.

"I'll see you later baby," I say to him. I turn and walk away from him but he slaps my ass as I do so.

"Love you!" He calls out.


	112. Part 4, Chapter 39

I go over and sit with Emma and Walter. Emma's stabbing her chicken with her fork very aggressively.

"Hey..." I say to her but Walter shakes his head no and gives me a look that reads 'don't poke the beast.'

Emma slams her fork down on the table, "His friend! His very good friend! And when I asked him about it he said its because we aren't technically dating!" Emma shoves her plate away from her and Walter stops it from going right off the table on the other side.

"Molly seems to like you though," I say to her trying to help the situation a little.

Emma groans and hits her head on the table, "But as his friend! Not as his girlfriend! She doesn't like me the way she likes you." She turns to Walter, "You should have seen it, Mrs. Weasley treats Violet like one of her own children."

Walter smiles at me, "That's sweet."

Emma groans, "Sweet? It's perfect! And Fred introduces me as his good friend? What am I? Lee? Walter?" She makes a noise that I never heard her make before which makes me laugh a little.

"Come sit with us during the third task. You can talk to Molly and ger to know her and by the time Fred is ready to introduce you as his girlfriend..."

Emma cuts me off, "I'm not going to the third task. I'm going to stay in our dorm, listen to loud music, start packing some of my things and cry a bunch. I don't want to look at another Weasley right now..." She looks across the table and her eyes land on Fred, "... no matter how cute they are." She says quietly.

Walter nudges me and I look over at the staff table, Dumbledore is now standing. The room falls quiet, "Ladies and gentlemen, I ask you to start making your way down to the quidditch pitch for the third and last task of the Triwizard tournament. Will the champions please follow Mister Bagman through the back room."

Harry, Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor all stand and the room breaks into applause. Once they've disappeared into the back room the rest of us head out of the great hall and towards the front door. I stop and pull Emma to the side before the Weasley clan is out of the great hall.

"If you change your mind Em, we'll be down by the pitch..." I say to her. Emma smiles a bit, "I hope you change your mind."

Emma turns and walks into the dungeons as soon as the Weasleys come over. "...where she going?" Fred asks me, watching Emma walk down the hall.

"She's not coming to watch the task. She want's to get a head start on packing her things." George wraps himself around me from behind and kisses my ear lobe which makes me smile.

We start to walk down to the pitch, the Weasleys plus Hermione and myself. Fred, George, and I are walking behind the rest of them.

"She's mad at me isn't she? She stormed off when we were walking the grounds and I went after her but I couldn't figure out where she went." Fred says trying to explain the situation.

"She's annoyed that you didn't introduce her as a girlfriend." I explain to him.

Freds jaw drops open but he quickly fixes it, "I'm not ready for that. I'm not ready to have my mum all up in my business like she is with George. No offense G."

George laughs, "None taken."

"Emma knows that I don't want my family all in my business. I'm not ready for that. I have joke shop things to deal with, and school, and exams were awful for me so I'm still stressing out about that and if I get bad grades then mums going to flip a table... and"

I wrap my arms around his arm and hug it as we walk, "Relax dude. It's alright. If she doesn't understand, doesn't want to understand that you're just not ready for that then that's her issue."

"Easy for you to say." Fred looks over at George, "You two just fell into each others laps and never left."

George pulls me off of his brother and hold me close to him instead. "Took me two years to figure my shit out, you know that."

Fred groans, but the conversation ends when we get to the pitch. We walk up to the tallest part of the pitch where the families are supposed to sit and watch. The entire area around the pitch has been turned into a massive hedge maze, it's got to be nearly twenty feet tall.

"Goodness me." Molly says as she sits in her seat, "Poor Harry."

I sit between Fred and George. George leans his head on my shoulder and rubs the top of his head on my neck, "Stop that tickles." I lean away from him but he pulls me back towards him and starts peppering my neck with small kisses.

Down below, we can see each champion stand themselves in front of a different entrance to the maze, then we hear Mister Ludo Bagman's voice. "Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand!"

The crowd cheers and Mister Bagman waits till the noise dies down before he speaks again. "Tied in first place, Mister Cedric Diggory and Mister Harry Potter!" Every Weasley starts to cheer wildly along with nearly every single other person in the stands. Because Molly and Bill are here the twins didn't bother trying to get bets on this round and I think they're a little upset by it.

"In second place, Viktor Krum of Durmstrang Institute!" More applause and the chant that the Durmstrang students always seem to do before a task. "And in fourth place, Miss Fleur Delacour, Of Beauxbatons Academy!"

More applause, "The instructions are simple! The Triwizard Cup is hidden somewhere in the maze, the first person to capture it wins! If the champion ever feels like they are in immediate danger or they are hurt in the maze, they will send red sparks up from their wand and one of the people on staff will come to their rescue!"

Molly gasps and clutches her chest. Bill takes her hand and hold it for a while. "On my whistle, Harry and Cedric will enter the maze... Three!... Two!... One!..." Mister Bagman blows his whistle sharply and music starts to play from somewhere in the stands. We watch as Harry and Cedric disappear into the maze.

"This is not going to be good for my heart." Molly says. Fred, George, and I chuckle to ourselves a bit.

Mister Bagman blows his whistle again and Viktor heads into the maze as well. Hermione whispers something under her breath but I'm to far away from her to make out what she said. After about five minutes, the whistle is blown again and Fleur heads into the maze. The band... or whoever is playing the music changes the song and... that's it, now we wait for something to happen.

"These tasks are so boring to watch." Ron says, its followed by a quick slapping noise so I imagine that Molly's just hit him.

"He's not wrong mum. The last task was just one big, boring, staring at the lake experience." Fred says.

Molly looks down the line at us and we all look at her, "You three are insufferable." She says it with a smile on her face though so we know that she isn't serious.

About fifteen or so minutes in the music is interrupted by a blood curdling scream from the maze. The music stops and we all sit in silence for a good long time. George sits up in his chair normally to try and see whatever's happening down below. "That was a woman's scream." Fred says.

I glance down the line at Molly who is pale in the face and still clutching her chest. Even Bill looks a little uneasy. Then, red sparks shoot up from the maze and teachers all around start to run in after it. The music starts again.

It takes about another fifteen minutes for the teachers to reappear from the maze, they've got Fleur on a stretcher floating along between them. "She looks... stunned? Frozen?" I whisper. It's very hard to see but Fleur definitely has a sort of rigidness to her form.

"This is so much better than the lake." Fred says, his eyes bright.

Then, another scream. Different than the last. This one is less full of fear and more full of pain, and it lasts a lot longer as well. "Harry!" Ron and Hermione shout. They both stand to try and see something, anything.

"No sparks though..." Bill breathes. Almost as soon as that sentence leaves his mouth though, red sparks soar into the sky. The teachers that weren't with Fleur dash into the maze again.

The music stops again. The teachers return with another stretcher, "Its Viktor!" Ginny shrieks. Hermione files to the edge of the platform we are on and peers over to get a better look. She turns around and looks at us all before she flies down the stairs to see Viktor.

"And then there were two." George mumbles.

The music starts once again. George and I cuddle closer together, hes managed to get the arm rest that is between the chairs to disappear so we can actually be right beside each other.

Ten minutes pass.

Twenty minutes pass.

Thirty minutes pass.

Then, a gust of the strongest wind I've ever seen comes out from the middle of the maze. It's so strong it knocks back some of the surrounding hedges. Music stops. People gasp. No one says anything.

I clutch onto George with one hand and grab Fred with the other. No one moves.

Ten minutes pass.

Twenty minutes pass.

Someone sneezes below us.

Thirty minutes pass.

Forty minutes... a big flash of white light, lights the entire stands up. People scream.


	113. Part 4, Chapter 40

"It's Harry! And Cedric!" Someone shouts. Everyone gets to their feet. Harry is draped over Cedric... Cedric isn't moving.

"no..." I whisper. I throw myself into George and bury my face into the nape of his neck. He grabs onto me and squeezes me hard.

"No Amos!" Molly says. I hear stomping behind me and I figure that Amos Diggory is fleeing down the stairs to be at his son's side.

"He's dead! He's dead! Cedric Diggory is dead!" A man's voice screeches from below. Everyone floods out of the stands and down to where the commotion is. Molly shoves past us and flies down the stairs, we all follow her.

Molly shoves her way to the front of the crowd that's gathered and shrieks. George, Fred, and I stand behind her.

"Oh my god..." Walter whispers. He's clutching onto Lee as tight as he can, Lee's face us buried in Walters shirt.

Sobs rack my body, everyone around us is crying, screaming. Cho... Cedric's date to the ball collapses and her friends try to get her to stand back up. Dumbledore pulls Harry off of Cedric's body, Mister Diggory throws himself on top of his son.

Professor Moody takes a hold of Harry and pulls him away from the scene. Molly and Ron go to follow but Bill holds them back. Girls are screaming. Every single Hufflepuff is holding onto each other crying violently.

Cedric. Fucking Cedric Diggory. One of the smartest, kindest, most compassionate wizard of our year, dead at my feet.

I turn away and push out of the crowd, George is yelling my name chasing after me. I don't stop running till I get to the edge of the forbidden forest. I put my hand on a tree and vomit. George comes up behind me. He pulls my hair away from my face and rubs my back slowly.

I wipe my mouth and turn to look at him. Tears are flooding down his face silently. "I just- I..."

I wipe his tears away with my thumb, "I know..." I say through tears of my own.

"He was good... He was..." George stumbles over his words.

I hug him tight to me and we stand like that for a very long time, clutching onto each other, sobbing into each others shoulders. It feels like we are there for hours. I cry till my eyes hurt, my brain is fuzzy.

George pulls away from me and looks into my face. He takes my hand and we walk back towards the castle. No one is around the pitch anymore.

As soon as we walk through the castle doors Molly throws herself on us and holds us close to her, "Where did you go? Are you alright? Violet... Georgie... I'm so sorry." Being held by Molly makes me cry all over again. I look past her and see Fred holding himself, Ginny is crying into Bills chest and Ron is no where to be seen.

I let go of Molly and go over to Fred, "come here." I whisper. I wrap my arms around Fred and he practically melts into me. George comes over and hugs the two of us. We're all sobbing, loud, ugly, sobs that rack our entire body.

I can feel Molly staring at us but I don't let go of the boys. "I was such a fucking asshole to him." George cries. Fred and I squeeze him tighter, "He did nothing to deserve that! He was just friendly. And I was such a fucking asshole." George cries louder, tears spill down his face and drip to the floor. People around us are crying, numb, muttering about nothing. Professor Sprout makes an announcement. Tells us to go back to our dorms for the night.

"Sixth years will be staying in the great hall tonight. We've set up cots for you all." Sprout says. Fred, George and I let go of each other and shuffle into the great hall along with the rest of our year.

There's about forty of us. Emma comes running into the room, tears spilling down her face. She looks over at us, sitting on a few cots we've gathered up in the corner. Fred, Lee, Walter, George, and I wave her over.


	114. Part 4, Chapter 41

"I've got alcohol," Cassius says. Everyone in the room looks over at him. He's standing with the rest of the Slytherin boys, each of them are holding a pillowcase full of bottles.

I don't really remember the rest of the night. There was a lot of drinking, a lot of crying, a lot of hugging people I've barely had conversations with. Though Cedric wasn't necessarily all of our friend... he is... was... one of us. We grew up together, watched him turn into the wizard that he was. He's family.

"To Cedric!" Clarissa says drunkenly. She raises the bottle she's been drinking from into the air and everyone follows suit, "The best fucking wizard in our year. I'm going to miss him." Everyone mumbles in agreement and clinks their bottles together.

I don't think any of us sleep, or at least from what I can remember at least. I know that Dumbledore came into the great hall at some point to check on us. We all thought that he would yell at us for having alcohol in school but he just closes the door again. I guess he's lost someone too.

At nine in the morning, the doors are open again. A few staff members come in, take our cots away, and set up the tables for breakfast. They set up an extra, smaller table on the edge of the room. Madam Pince tells us that its for us to sit and be together.

We all sit down, exhausted, hung over, sad. I lean my head on George's shoulder. No one says anything. The room fills with the other students. They're all chattering and talking amongst themselves but no one at our little table says a single word. Plates appear, then food appears. None of us eat much even though we probably should.

I spread marmalade on a slice of toast and manage to eat half of it without feeling sick. The Hufflepuffs don't even bother looking like they're eating anything. I know we are all sad but I can never imagine what the nine of them are going through, if one of the Slytherins died... I wouldn't know what I would do.

Once the plates have cleared, Dumbledore stands up at the podium and the rest of the room stops talking, "In times like these, there are little things that make people feel better. Cedric Diggory was a start student and a shining light in the halls at Hogwarts. I express my deepest condolences to his teachers, his house, his friends, his year. Cedric's legacy will live on through each of you. He died a champion, died a winner. He brought pride to Hogwarts. Pride to Hufflepuff."

He stops talking. Quiet sobs from the Hufflepuff table is all we can hear for quite some time. People at our small table start crying again too. Lee wipes tears off of Walters face. I want to cry but I can't. It's like I've run out of tears, my eyes are all dried up.

"I know... that you are all curious about the events that took place in the maze last night and honestly so am I. However, I urge you not to ask anything of Harry Potter. He has seen things, experienced things, that no one his age... no one ever should have to witness." Dumbledore continues. "Harry Potter has healed from his injuries and will be around Hogwarts till the train departs later today."

After breakfast, Dumbledore sends us all back to our dorm to pack our things. The energy at Hogwarts has shifted greatly.

"Do you think... this is it? The Dark Lord?" Miriam asks once all the Slytherins are back in the common room. The sixth and seventh years are sitting together in front of the fire.

No one answers her, but we are all thinking the same thing. "Why didn't he kill Harry? Everyone knows that he's the one the Dark Lord wants." Graham says.

I glance up at him for a moment but I don't say anything. I'm tired of saying things. "I'm not the only one that doesn't want to go home right?" Adrian says. Everyone mumbles a 'no, you're not'.

I rub my face with both my hands and groan. I slap my knees and look at everyone. "We have to pack." I say. I can tell by the looks on some peoples faces that they were expecting me to say something else, anything else. I get up from the couch and go into my dorm without a second thought. Emma, Clarissa, and Miriam come in after a few minutes.

"Are you going home?" Emma asks me, "I saw the letter that Molly sent you, asking you to spend your summer with the Weasleys."

I throw some of the clothes I have laying around into my trunk haphazardly "Not a fucking clue. If the Dark Lord is back... I bet you my entire trust fund that he's camping out at the Malfoy Manor... and that means that Draco is going to have to deal with it, alone if I'm not there." Realization hits me hard, "Draco, I haven't even checked in on him!"

I run out of the dorm ignoring Emma's pleas to just stay put and finish packing. I practically storm into Draco's dorm which makes Blaise jump. Draco looks at me, my cat Fergus is sitting on his bed.

"Dray, can I talk to you?"

Draco nods and leaves his dorm room with me, Fergus follows him. "Are you alright?" We say at the same time. We look at each other for a moment and we laugh. The first time I've laughed in what feels like years.

"You're keeping something from me. And I want to know what it is." Draco says.

I press the heel of my hands into my eyes, "I think the Dark Lord is back, he's the one that killed Cedric. And I'm scared that when we get home he's going to be sitting at our dining table reading the Daily Prophet." I say quickly.

Draco's face goes slack. "Father wouldn't..."

"Yes he would..."

"Alright, then mother wouldn't. She wouldn't let him into our house."

I pull Draco into a hug, he resists at first but then he hugs me back, "It's okay to be scared." I whisper to him.

"I'm not scared." He tries to pull away from me but I hold on tight enough so he can't.

"It's alright to be scared."

"I'm not scared."

"Draco. It's alright to be scared."

Draco shudders and he starts to cry, he tightens his grip around my torso and I hold him as close to me as I can. "I don't want to go home."

I stroke his hair and hum a lullaby that my aunt Narcissa sung to us as kids. "I don't want to go home." Draco whispers again. We stand there for a while, holding each other. Then he pulls away and this time I let him.

"Go finish packing." I wipe the stray tears off his face with my thumbs, "I'll see you on the train yeah?"

Draco nods and smiles sadly at me. He heads back into his room. I pick Fergus up off the floor and hold him tight to my chest and I walk back through the common room and into my dorm.

"Is Draco alright?" Emma asks. She's finished packing and is now sitting on her unmade bed cross legged.

"Shit scared and won't admit it, but yeah, he's holding on." I say to her.

Emma reads my facial expressions, "You're going home aren't you?"

"I'm going home."


	115. Part 4, Chapter 42

The end of year feast is supposed to be exciting, full of joy and happiness and what have you. Not this year though. With our trunks packed, Emma, Walter, and I walk hand in hand to the great hall for dinner.

It's the same sort of energy, no one really talking, no one celebrating anything. We all eat in silence, the Hufflepuffs still have tears streaming down their faces, a few other sixth years are crying to themselves as well. When the plates and food have cleared themselves off Dumbledore rises.

"The end... Of another year." Dumbledore says. Emma grabs a hold of my hand and squeezes it gently. I look across the table at Walter and smile sadly. "There is much that I would like to say to you all tonight. But first I must acknowledge the loss of a very fine person who should be sitting here." He gestures towards the Hufflepuff table, tears start to fall from my eyes again. Emma sniffles and wipe tears from her face. "Enjoying our feast with us. I would like you all, please, to stand and raise your glasses, to Cedric Diggory."

The benches scrape across the floor, everyone takes their glasses and raises them high in the air. Everyone speaks in a low, almost monotone voice, "Cedric Diggory."

We all sit down at the same time again. I use the sleeves of my jumper to wipe my tears off my face. I take a deep breath and look back at Dumbledore.

"Cedric was a person who exemplified many of the quailities which distinguish Hufflepuff house. He was a good and loyal friend, a hard worker, he valued fair play. His death has affected you all, whether you knew him well or not. I think that you have the right, therefore, to know exactly how it came about."

"The hell?" I whisper.

Emma sniffles again, "I don't think I can listen to this." She whispers.

People around us start whispering, looking around in horror, I don't think any of us want to relive the moment. But that doesn't stop Dumbledore.

"The ministry of magic." He starts again, the room goes quiet, "does not wish me to tell you this. It is possible that some of your parents will be horrified that I have done so- either because they will not believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, or because they think I should not tell you so, young as you are."

I feel like I'm going to pass out. Walter reaches over the table and takes my hand. Emma is now fully sobbing. Someone puts their hand on my shoulder and I turn around to look at them. Adrian is holding onto me with one hand, the other hand is clutching onto Miriam. That's when I notice that nearly everyone in my year, everyone that was there at the riots, were holding onto each other. I was right, The Dark Lord has returned.

Draco gets up from his seat a little ways down the table as Dumbledore continues to speak and comes to sit beside me. He leans back onto me like a beck rest and looks back up at Dumbledore.

"There is somebody else who must be mentioned in connection with Cedrics death, I am talking of course, about Harry Potter." Dumbledore continues. Everyone turns to look at Harry who is sitting with the Weasleys at the Gryffindor table before looking back at Dumbledore, "Harry Potter managed to escape Lord Voldemort. He risked his life to return Cedrics body to Hogwarts. He showed in every respect, the sort of bravery that few wizards have ever shown in facing Lord Voldemort and for this, I honour him."

Dumbledore raises his goblet again and everyone follow suit. Not many of the Slytherins stand up, me being one of them. I'm doing everything in my power to not have a full fledged breakdown in front of Draco so standing is something that is not the first priority on my list.

"The Triwizard Tournament's aim was to further and promote magical understanding. In the light of what has happened- of Lord Voldemort's return- such ties are more important than ever before." Dumbledore continues. I can barley hear him over the beating of my own heart. All of us are still holding onto each other for dear life at this point. Draco shifts a bit but he doesn't stop leaning on me. "Every guest in this hall, will be welcomed back here, at any time, should they wish to come. I say to you all, once again, in the light of Lord Voldemort's return, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided."

I look around at my fellow Slytherins and smile. Everyone looks to have had the same idea that I've had. We look around, making eye contact with one another, smiling, nodding, acknowledging our bond with one another. I peer over my shoulder at the Gryffindor table. George is staring right at me, tears streaming down his face. He knows as good as I do that this means that next year, the years following, its going to be different for us, between us. Something that neither of us are prepared for.

"Lord Voldemort's gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open." Dumbledore continues. "It is my belief- and never have I so hoped that I am mistaken- that we are all facing dark and difficult times. Some of you, in this hall, have already suffered directly at the hands of Lord Voldemort. Many of your families have been torn asunder."

Draco shifts again, clearly uncomfortable with the last statement that left Dumbledores mouth. "You alright?" I whisper into his ear. He nods once and I rest my chin on the top of his head.

"Remember Cedric. Remember if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy..." Dumbledore glances at the Slytherin table, we make eye contact for a split second before he looks back to the crowd, "Remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory."


	116. Part 4, Chapter 43

"Violet! Violet hey!" George comes through the crowd of Slytherins and stands in front of me looking panicked. I tell Draco to go back to the dorms and I take George's hand and we walk away from the other students.

"This is it I guess," I say to him.

George's eyes dart around my face before landing on my eyes, "You had to do it didn't you? You had to jinx it." George says it with a smile on his face and I know that he's joking but it still stings.

"I won't be able to stay with you this summer..." I say softly. I brush the back of my hand against George's cheek and he leans into my touch. "Draco needs me... and my family wouldn't even think about letting me go anywhere with all this happening."

George holds my hand against his face and smiles sadly at me, "I know beautiful." He pauses, "You're not breaking up with me are you?"

My heart aches seeing him this broken, this scared. I wrap my arms around his neck and hold him against me, he buries his face in my neck, "Course I'm not breaking up with you dummy. You're the only thing that's keeping me grounded at this point."

George laughs, "I could say the same thing about you." He moves so that we are looking at each other in the face again, "Don't forget though. Sirius said you can stay with him if you need."

On the train, Fred, George, Lee, Walter, Emma, and I sit in our usual compartment. I can see Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle pass by.

"This can't be good." I mutter under by breath. Fred, Lee, and George go to investigate. Not long after a big bang and loads of different coloured lights can be seen from the hallway.

"Jesus fucking Christ." I cry. Emma and Walter follow me out of the compartment and out into the hall.

Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle are lying on the floor unconscious. "George Weasley! What on earth did you just do!"

George spins around and looks at me sheepishly, "I didn't do it!"

"Yes you did." Fred says, not helping his brother case at all.

"They were talking ill of Cedric. They deserved each and every hex that we've hit them with." Hermione says. She's standing with her hands on her hips, very assure of herself.

I roll my eyes and look down at Draco who has boils all over his face. "You!" I point down the hall at a few second year Slytherins. "bring these three idiots back to the Slytherin car and have them fixed up before we get to Kings Cross." They fumble over each other and do as I say almost immediately.

George looks at me and smiles, "You're not mad?"

I laugh, "Honestly if I heard him saying the shit he just said I would have cursed him too."

We all pile into the compartment that Hermione, Ron, and Harry are sitting in. Which is very squishy. I end up sitting on George's lap so that there's room.

"Who have you two been bullying all year?" Ron asks the twins.

Fred and George look at each other and begin the long winded story of how Ludo Bagman paid them in leprechaun gold which disappears after a few hours and they've beentrying to get their money back from him all year.

Ron laughs, "Leave it to you two to bully a damned ministry member."

George kisses my neck a little, "Violet and the rest of these beautiful people saved up a bunch of their money and gave it to us for Christmas. We're still going to need loads more to get our joke shop up and running."

"You two are really going to do that?" Hermione asks them.

Fred looks like he's just been punched. "Course we are! We have been dreaming and working on this crap for years. It's going to be big."

"Bigger than Zonko's." George adds.

"Better than Zonko's in every way of the word." George says. He kisses my earlobe and I smile and turn a light shade of red.

When the train comes to a stop, Walter, Lee, Emma, Ron, and Hermione all head out and start getting their things together.

"Fred, George, wait a moment." Harry says. George holds onto my hand so I stay with them.

Harry pulls his trunk down and pops it open. He shuffles things around for a moment and then pulls out a massive sack of money. "Take this."

Fred and George are silent, for one of the first times in their lives. "What?" Fred stutters.

"You're mental." George says staring at the bag of gold in Harrys hands.

"No, I'm not. You take it. Use it to get inventing, build your joke shop, please." Harry jams his hand out further, holding the gold out in front of him.

"He is mental." Fred says, he laughs a bit but Harry doesn't laugh with him.

Harry rolls his eyes, "Listen. If you don't take it I'm throwing it down the drain. I don't want it and I don't need it. But I could do with a few laughs. We all could go with a few laughs and you two are the funniest people I know."

George gulps. He takes the bag from Harry carefully and weighs it in his hands, "There's got to be a thousand galleons in here."

Harry smiles brightly, "Yeah. Think of all the canary creams you could make with that."

The twins stare at him. George passes the bag of gold to Fred and Fred weighs it in his hands as well, as if they can't believe what's happening. "Just don't tell your mum where you've gotten it... although she might not be so keen for you to join the ministry anymore come to think of it..."

"Harry..." Fred starts.

Harry pulls out his wand and waves it between the two twins, "Look. Take it, or I'll hex you. You've just seen that I know far more than I did last year." George smiles, "Just promise me one thing okay? Buy Rom some different dress robes, and say they're from you."

Harry puts his wand away and lugs his trunk out of the compartment. Fred follows after him. I go to follow too but George holds me back. "Stay safe this summer yeah?" He whispers to me.

"Yeah you too." I whisper back to him.

We stand there in silence for a while, "Harry just gave us a thousand fucking galleons." George says. His face breaks out into a really big smile and his eyes start to water.

I nod a bunch smiling like a complete idiot, "He really did."

George kisses me hard and quick, "I'm going to own a joke shop."

"You're going to own a joke shop."

George kisses me hard again. We both head out onto the platform. Draco is standing beside a driver with our names on a sign. George looks over at him then looks at me. "I love you."

"I love you too Weasley." I kiss him once more before I head over to Draco. The driver maneuvers both of our trollies through the entrance of the platform and we walk over to the car that uncle Lucius and Aunt Narcissa sent for us.


	117. Part 4, Chapter 44

The ride home was silent and long, but not as long as I wish it was. When we get to the Malfoy Manor, our house elf Norby comes running up and grabs our trunks. Draco and I walk hand in hand down the pathway and into the front door. There's loud voices coming from the formal dining room. Draco and I walk down the hall and stand in the doorway.

Aunt Narcissa looks up at us from the couch, "Draco, Violet. It's so nice to have you home again." She says softly. But she's not who I'm looking at. The room is full of people, faces I recognize from the riot, the parents of people I go to school with. But those aren't the people I'm looking at either. In the big chair on the right side of the room... A man with grey skin and a bald head is sitting with his back turned to us.

Slowly, he turns around to see what all the commotion is about. He's snake-like in appearance, his nose is nearly flat on his face, his eyes dark. "Ah..." he says in an almost fragile sounding voice, "You must be Violet." He stands from the chair and everyone shifts so he can pass by them without bumping into anyone or anything. "I've heard stories... Your aunt and uncle speak highly of you..." He says. His voice is oily, thick. Everyone in the room seems to be hanging onto his every word.

I look past the man and to my uncle. He stands and comes over to us. "Draco go off to your room please." He says sternly. Draco lets go of my hand and runs as fast as he can up the stairs. Uncle Lucius turns to me, "The time has come Violet. The Dark Lord has requested that you get your Dark Mark. Now."

I look from uncle Lucius to the snake like man. As soon as I saw him I knew who it was but it was like my brain wouldn't register it. The Dark Lord smiles. Well not really smiles, more just has a little facial spasm.

"Come now Violet... Violet LeStrange." The Dark Lord puts his cold gray hand on my shoulder and guides me into the middle of the room.

I can't speak, it's like I'm watching the entire scenario from above, I'm no longer in my own body. The Dark Lord stands in front of me and does another one of those facial spasm things that now I know is him trying to smile. His mouth moves but I can't hear the words. My mind is shutting down out of pure fear.

"Violet?" Aunt Narcissa comes up beside me and puts her hand on my back. "Violet dear do as the Dark Lord says."

I blink a few times, "Sorry my Lord..." I give him my wand arm. He pulls my sleeve up, exposing my skin.

The Dark Lord puts his wand in the air and dramatically brings it down onto my skin, shoving it right into my arm, literally, it pierces the skin.

He says something that I don't bother listening to. All I can feel is the searing pain in my arm. I want to cry, I want to scream, to Apparirate out of here and appear in the Burrow. The pain travels up my arm and into my chest. But I don't think about it. All I think of is George, I can practically feel his arms around me, his breath on my neck.

The room fills with applause, but its definitely not cheery, more solemn, understanding, almost sad. I jolt forward a bit, like my soul just decided to jump back into my body.

"Welcome my child. To my army." The Dark Lord says. I can tell he's trying to make it sound happy and welcoming but its terrifying.

I look over my shoulder at Aunt Narcissa, she's got tears in her eyes but I can't tell if they're happy or not. I look over at my uncle Lucius who nods at me. Finally, I look down to my arm. There it is, in jet black ink. The dark mark. It's red around the edges and it's still sore, but its there. The jaw of the skull is open, a snake slithering through it. The snake forms an eight underneath the skull. I look up into the Dark Lords eyes, he's waiting for a response. I take a deep breath and bow my head.

"Thank you my Lord."


	118. Part 5, Chapter 1

I can't believe I just got the Dark Mark. My hands are shaking, my whole body is sore.

"May I be excused? I have to unpack my things from Hogwarts." I say quietly.

"Course you can dear." Aunt Narcissa says softly.

I bow to the Dark Lord again and I maneuver myself out of the middle of the room and go upstairs. Norby has already brought my trunk and things into my room. Fergus is screaming at me from his carrier. I go over and unlatch the front of the carrier so Fergus can roam the house freely.

I don't notice that Draco is sitting at my desk till he moves. "Merlins beard Draco!" I whisper shout.

I go over to my bedroom door and close it, I then seal it with a soundproofing charm that I've learned in my spare time. I turn back around and look at Draco. "What happened? I heard them clapping." Draco asks me.

I try to stop myself from crying but it doesn't work, tears start to stream down my face. Draco practically flies from one side of my room to the other and pulls me into a hug. He hits the freshly placed dark mark and I wince. "Sorry." He lets go of me immediately.

"It's not how I thought it would be," I whisper.

"What do you mean?"

I pull my sleeve back up and show Draco. Draco looks at it then looks into my eyes. I can tell he wants to say something but he doesn't know how to. "It hurts a lot more than I thought it would. The Dark Lord shoves his wand into your skin and twists it around a bit. Then it burns, all the way up your arm and into your chest." I whisper. I feel ashamed like I shouldn't look Draco in the eyes anymore.

"Did they... give you a choice?"

I laugh and wipe the tears off my cheeks, "If they did do you really think I would have gotten this thing?"

I move past Draco carefully and I sit on the edge of my bed. "I shouldn't have come home," I say to him. Draco sits beside me and looks at me with a sort of hurt in his eyes. "I wasn't going to come home. I was going to go to the Burrow with George, spend the summer there... But I came home anyway and look what happened."

"It's not too late Violet. You can go." Draco says softly, "I'll be alright."

I look at Draco. His posture is nearly perfect, his hair is parted right down the middle. He looks poised, professional. But I know him. I know that his eyes are full of fear and sadness. If I left it would destroy him.

"I'm not going anywhere without you. And I may be legal now and able to go anywhere I please but you're not and taking you now would be considered kidnapping or something crazy."

Draco stands up from the bed and looks at me, "That's the stupidest thing you've ever said to me before in my entire life? You're going to have your life destroyed! All for what? To keep me safe?" He shouts. Thank god for that sound sealing charm.

"You are the most important thing right now Draco. Not school. Not the Dark Lord. You! Keeping you safe, making sure that you end up being a good person, a talented wizard, that's my top priority!" I shout back at him.

Draco paces around my room like a caged tiger, "You're not my mother!"

"Well someone has to be! You really think that Narcissa had any part in making you the person you are today? She just stands by and lets Lucius do whatever he pleases! I protected you my whole life from what your parents are really like Draco! I was the one they treated like crap so that they wouldn't treat you that way!" I stand from the bed too, facing him. "If I wasn't here right now. You would have been the one to get the Mark tonight. You would be sitting in your room alone crying!"

Draco throws my desk chair to the ground and yells in anger, "Well maybe I want the Mark!" He shouts.

I shake my head, tears start forming in my eyes again, "Don't say that Draco. You don't mean that."

Draco's now got tears flowing down his face too, "I want it. You all have it."

"Your mother doesn't."

"Cause she's a coward."

I rub my temples with my fingertips, "You don't have to follow your father blindly. You're your own person."

"I know that." Draco spits.

"Then why don't you act like it?" I spit right back at him.

Draco storms over to my door, "Let me out." He says coldly.

"Draco."

"I said, let me out."

I pull my wand out and mutter the counter charm under my breath. Draco swings the door open and shuts it behind him. Instantly I break down into tears. I start to unpack my things, putting everything into my drawers. I pull out my Yule Ball dress and stare at it for a minute before I tuck it away into the back of my closet. Once all of my clothes are put away I start slowly putting my quills and things back into my desk. I pause. Take a breath. Pick up the chair that Draco threw, and sit down.

I write the same letter nine times over

It's Violet,

They made me get it as soon as I got home. You?

I put them into little envelopes and seal them with wax and my family's crest. I then write names on each envelope.

Clarissa Blythe.

Emma Fay.

Miriam Boyarsky.

Henrietta Taylor.

Walter Clarence.

Adrian Pucey.

Cassius Warrington.

Miles Bletchley.

Graham Montague.

I open my window and whistle for my owl who comes soaring in from a nearby tree. "I have a lot of letters that need to be delivered as soon as possible so I need you to fly fast. Take this one to Emma Fay." I tie the letter around Otis' leg and kiss him on the head. Then I send him out the window again.

I turn back around and look at my desk. I stare for a moment before I pick up the quill that George bewitched for me years ago. I put it back down again and sit back at my desk. I hesitate. Pick the quill back up, dip it in some ink and write on my arm that doesn't have the Dark Mark on it.

I SHOULD HAVE GONE HOME WITH YOU

Is all I write to him. I get a response almost instantly.

ARE YOU ALRIGHT?

Every fibre in my body is telling me not to tell him, to pretend everything is alright. Then I think of how much I should actually tell him.

SAW THE DARK LORD. HE GAVE ME THE DARK MARK.


	119. Part 5, Chapter 2

It's been a month since that awful night. I got responses from each of the people I sent letters to. Clarissa, Emma, Henrietta, Cassius, Graham, and Miles all had to get the Dark Mark as well. The Dark Lord came to visit them on the same day as he gave me mine.

I've been talking with George as well. He and his family aren't staying in the Burrow right now, instead, they are staying with Sirius and Remus at number twelve Grimmauld Place. He wants me to go, stay with them but Grimmauld place is essentially the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. Somewhere that I am definitely not allowed to be with this mark on my body.

Someone knocks on my door and I shove all the letters from my friends into the top drawer of my desk. I wave my hand in front of it and place an undetectable locking charm on it, "Come in!" I say politely.

Aunt Narcissa steps carefully into the room. My heart sinks, I thought it might have been Draco. We haven't really spoken since our argument. "We need you downstairs Violet. The Dark Lord requests it. Get dressed and come down right away."

I nod, but she doesn't leave. She goes over to my closet and pulls the doors open. She hums while she looks through my things. I watch her pull out a pair of black dress pants, a white tank top and a blazer. "This will do nicely." She says, holding the blazer out in front of her.

She turns to look at me, "Has it healed nicely?" She asks softly.

I run my thumb against the sleeve of my shirt. Ever since I got the mark I've been wearing nothing but long sleeve shirts so I don't have to see it all the time. I shrug, "It burns sometimes but other than that it's alright."

Aunt Narcissa places the blazer on my bed, "When it burns it means that the Dark Lord is summoning you for a meeting or something else important."

"It's annoying," I say standing from my desk and going over to the clothes that she's picked out for me.

"Don't say that Violet." Aunt Narcissa says coldly.

I look at her as I unbutton my pyjama shirt. "It is though. Is that why you don't have one?"

Aunt Narcissa turns around to give me some privacy, "I never thought I needed a mark to show my support for the Dark Lord. And because Lucius has one, I can be updated by his so I don't need it."

I pull the tank top she's chosen for me over my head and shimmy out of my pyjama pants and put on the dress pants. "Why didn't you stop them? Why did I have to get one?"

Aunt Narcissa turns around as I pull the blazer on, "Your mother would kill me if you didn't get it." She comes over to me and fixes the collar on my blazer, I flinch a little at her touch.

"My mother is going to be in Azkaban for the rest of her life. She wouldn't have known." I say coldly.

Aunt Narcissa takes a step away from me, she looks a little hurt but I don't care. I want her to hurt as bad as I'm hurting. "Come downstairs, Violet." She says. She goes over to my bedroom door and opens it for me. I pad over to her in my bare feet and walk out the door. Aunt Narcissa steps in front of me and starts down the left staircase. I follow her slowly. I can hear a door creak open as I go down the stairs and I make eye contact with Draco, His head is stuck outside of the door. He watches me go all the way down the stairs. Aunt Narcissa walks straight through the front foyer, through the kitchen and into the dining room. The stone table has been elongated with magic, about thirty people are sitting at the table with the Dark Lord at the head of it. It takes me a moment to register that I actually know some of the people sitting at the table. Emma being one of them. I could hardly recognize her, she looks tired... no that's not the right word. Exhausted is better. She's also not wearing the cream, flowy dresses that I'm used to her wearing. She's in all black, from head to toe.

I pass Clarissa and her parents, as well as Miles and his parents as I walk to the head of the table. The Dark Lord has his arms outstretched to me, "Ah... Violet. So glad you could join us." He says in his fragile voice. The way he speaks has been getting on my nerves all summer but I hold my tongue.

I go over to him, bow my head, and gently kiss his cheek like he always makes me do. Then I go sit down beside Emma. Instantly the grabs my hand under the table and I can see some tension leave her body immediately.

"Now that I have my strength back... I need my followers." The Dark Lord says airily. "My most devoted. The ones that did not lie about their devotion to save themselves."

The energy in the room changes almost immediately, I can see some people shift in their seats, "My Lord, I could not risk being locked in Azkaban, my mother, She needed me." One of the people around the table says.

It happened almost instantly. The Dark Lord took his wand out from under his cloak. He points it at the man who spoke and the man begins to float out of his chair. Higher. Higher. No one dares to watch though. I squeeze Emma's hand tightly and she does the same to me. We can hear the man hit the tall ceiling with a dull thud. Then. He falls. He lands right in front of Emma and I, she jumps but I dig my nails into her hand so she doesn't make a noise.

"My Lord..." The man groans.

The Dark Lord stands from his chair and raises his wand behind his head, "Avada Kedavra!" He cries. It's like I'm watching things in slow motion the man on the table tries to flinch away but a blast of bright green light hits him square in the head.

The man goes limp. Emma squeezes my hand so tight that I can feel her nails pierce through my skin. "Lucious... remove him." The Dark Lord says.

Uncle Lucius stands and levitates the body of the man off the table and out of the room. The Dark Lord smiles as Uncle Lucius passes him. "As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted." The Dark Lord says calmly, "I will be needing you, all of you... to help me get my loyal followers out of Azkaban."

The adults in the room nod in agreement. The Dark Lord looks at me, then Emma, then Miles, and Clarissa. "My youngest children... This will not concern you and you are free to leave. How about you practice some Apparition for us all."

Emma, Miles, Clarissa, and I stand from the table. I never let go of Emma's hand though. First Miles disappears, then Clarissa.

"Don't let go of me. Trust me." I whisper to Emma. She looks at me, then tightens her grip on my hand.

I clear my brain of everything, everything besides the address that George gave me. Number twelve Grimmauld Place. I take a deep breath and spin in a circle. I'm suddenly weightless, but I can feel Emma holding onto me. It feels like the longest trip I've ever taken using apparition. When my feet hit the solid ground I'm scared to open my eyes.

'Violet? Where the fuck are we?" I hear Emma say. I open my eyes and we are in a very dark room that's full of cobwebs and other junk. I can hear people clambering upstairs.

I pull my wand out from the back of my pants and hold it tight. The door opens, light shines through the dark room. "Violet?" The person lowers their wand so I can see who they actually are.

"Sirius!"


	120. Part 5, Chapter 3

Emma and I climb over some old, discarded furniture and walk to the door that Sirius is standing in. He looks at me for a moment then smiles and hugs me to him.

"You know the polite thing to do would be to send an owl before you apparate into someone's attic." He says to me.

I laugh and pull away from him, "It was a last-minute thing. We didn't have time."

More people run up the stairs, wands drawn. "It's alright!" Sirius calls, "It's just Violet and her friend!"

POP!

Fred and George appear on the top of the stairs. "Violet!" George says, a smile instantly appears on his face. He scoops me into his arms and starts peppering my face with kisses.

"Nice to see you too Georgie." I laugh.

George puts me down back on my feet and gives me a proper kiss. "What are you doing here?" He asks. I look over at Emma who is awkwardly staring at Fred.

"I need to talk to Sirius. And we don't have long." I say to him. Sirius turns around and looks at me.

"Come with me then." He leads me away from the twins, but he stops beside a pink-haired girl I've never seen before, "Tonks, best you come with us." He says. The girl, Tonks apparently, looks confused as all hell but she follows Sirius, Emma, and I down the stairs.

"Violet?" I can hear Molly say from the kitchen doorway. I look over and smile at her but I don't stop to say hello. Sirius leads us into a room that looks all too familiar. Instantly I know that this is a Black family house. The tapestry covers every single wall in the room.

Sirius conjures up some chairs and we all take a seat. "How long do you have?" Sirius asks me.

"I don't have an exact time frame but I know it won't be long before Aunt Narcissa comes looking for me in my room."

Tonks looks at me, "Aunt Narcissa?" She asks.

I stick my hand out to her, "Violet LeStrange. Daughter of Bellatrix Black and Rodolphus LeStrange.

Tonks looks at me but doesn't shake my hand. "Nymphadora Tonks. My mums Andromeda." She says coldly.

I take my hand away from her and nod. I look back at Sirius. "I don't know how much George has told you. If he's told you anything at all. They made me get the Dark Mark as soon as I got home from Hogwarts."

Sirius frowns, "They did?"

I nod, "As soon as I stepped into the front door Aunt Narcissa took me into the living room and they gave it to me. No one even asked me if it was what I wanted. They did it to my friends too." I nod at Emma and she looks down to the floor.

"It's like you said, Sirius. They're recruiting young wizards." Tonks looks at me in disgust almost. "How did you even know to come here?"

"My boyfriend told me. I'm sorry but who do you think you are talking to me in that tone?"

"Your family nearly killed my mother when she was pregnant with me! You're just like them. Supporting He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named." She spat.

Instantly my hand goes for my wand, Tonks does the same thing. Sirius puts his hand on her leg and that seems to calm her. "Violet doesn't think like the rest of the Blacks. If she did, do you really think she would be coming to me with her problems?" He says.

That seems to calm Tonks down a smidge. "I don't know what to do Sirius. I've spoken to the Dark Lord. He knows me by name. I can't just run away anymore... And Draco..." I say to him.

"Keep me updated on things, as much as you can. As many things that you think you can say so you don't get in trouble." Sirius says. "Are you going to Hogwarts this year?"

I nod, "Aunt Narcissa and Uncle Lucius want me to finish my education. They say its what my mother wants for me. But that's what they said about the Dark Mark as well."

Emma taps my arm, "We should probably go." She says quietly.

Sirius and Tonks stand up, Emma and I do the same. "It was nice to meet you, Tonks. It's good to know that not all the Blacks are awful." I say to Tonks. She nods, "Say hi to Aunt Andromeda for me, please? I would love to meet her someday. Aunt Narcissa tends to talk fondly of her."

Tonks snorts and walks out of the room, Emma follows behind her. I grab onto Sirius' arm before he can leave. "I'm scared," I whisper to him.

Sirius lets the door close behind Emma and puts both his hands on my arms. "You're strong enough to do this."

Tears swell up in my eyes as seems to be the pattern of late, "I don't think I am."

"Shh shh shh shh," Sirius says to me. He squeezes my arms, "You're a Black. We're genetically created to survive it all." He winks at me which makes me laugh a bit. "You better be off."

I nod and wipe my eyes with the sleeves of my blouse. Sirius pulls open the door and I step outside. George is standing there waiting for me. "You alright?" He says sheepishly.

"No," I say half smiling at him.

George opens his arms and I step into them and bury myself in him. "Stay here with me," George says, his voice vibrates his entire chest.

"I can't. I have to head back before they notice me gone... Is Emma still here?" I let go of George but keep my hands on his ribcage.

"Nah she left as soon as she left that room. Fred wanted to talk to her but she just walked right past him." He says. He brings his hand up to my face and traces my jawline with his thumb, "You're beautiful."

"I'm damaged goods."

"Shut up."

I look at my watch, "I've been here for half an hour. I gotta go." I kiss him hard, with tongue.

"I'll see you on the train?" He whispers when I pull away from him.

I peck his lips again, "Definitely." I step away from him and smile. "I love you."

"I love you too baby."

I picture my room at the Malfoy Manor clearly in my head and I spin in a circle.

When I open my eyes I'm back in my room, I can still smell George like he's right in front of me. Norby comes bursting into my room.

"Good Master LeStrange is back!" She squeals, "Norby figured that Master LeStrange went away but she didn't tell anyone no she did not."

"Did anyone else figure it out?" I say to her.

Norby shakes her head no, "No Master LeStrange. Nobody but Norby figured it out. Very good on your part."

I smile, "It was pretty smart wasn't it?"


	121. Part 5, Chapter 4

YOU THINK YOU COULD GET TO DIAGON ALLEY TODAY?

George's handwriting appears on my arm very early on September the third, the day before we have to leave for Hogwarts.

I go to reach for my quill that's on my bedside table when the door to my room opens. Aunt Narcissa steps inside. Even this early in the morning she looks perfectly put together and absolutely gorgeous. "Your Hogwarts letter has come. I don't think that we'll be able to take you and Draco to Diagon alley though." She comes and sits at the end of my bed and passes me the letter.

"I can take Draco. Not like I haven't done it before." I say to her smiling.

Aunt Narcissa reaches out and touches my face softly, "I haven't seen you smile like that all summer." She whispers. "I'll go get you some money from Lucius' office. You go wake Draco and get him dressed. Do you need me to call you a ministry car?"

I shake my head, "I'll Apparirate with him. I'll be okay."

She nods and leaves my room. I scramble out of bed and quickly get dressed. I put on a black sundress then remember that I have that damned mark on my arm and change into a jumper and some dark blue shorts. I put on a pair of black boots and go down the hall to Draco's room.

I knock but when I don't get an answer I just push the door open. "Oi, get up. Aunt Narcissa can't take us to Diagon alley this year so I've got to take you."

Draco groans and rolls over in his bed, "Can't you just go buy all my things?"

"Get out of bed." I snap at him before I turn around and head into the bathroom to brush out my hair and tie it up in a ponytail.

Draco meets me downstairs in about half an hour. He's sporting another one of his black suits that he's been wearing recently. The only reason I don't look younger than him right now is because I'm a few inches taller than him.

Aunt Narcissa comes into the front foyer and gives me a big sack of money. "That should be enough to get what you need and a few things just for you. If you need though, you can go into the vault. Draco, listen to Violet. What she says goes alright?"

Draco rolls his eyes, "Yes mother." He says. I don't think Aunt Narcissa picks up on his sarcasm but I sure as hell do.

I grab his hand and in an instant, we are in front of Gringotts bank. "Give me some money so I can get my things. I don't want to be seen with you looking like that." Draco says annoyed.

I look down at what I'm wearing, "Looking like what?"

"Like a twelve-year-old boy."

I roll my eyes and pull open the sack of coins. I give Draco about forty galleons and he shoves all of it into different pockets of his suit. "If you need more I'll be around," I tell him before he dashes off into the crowds, no doubt seeing someone that he knows.

I start walking down the cobblestone street. I pull out my book list and read over it carefully, but when I see the line outside of Flourish and Blotts I figure that books can be the last thing on my list.

"Hey beautiful, come here often?" A deep voice says from behind me. I turn around fully ready to tell this person off but a smile spreads across my lips instead.

"Only once a year give or take. What about you?" I say to George.

He looks me up and down and licks his bottom lip a bit, "You look stunning." He says to me.

I wrap my arms around his neck and he puts his hands in the back pockets of my shorts, "You look pretty good yourself." I kiss him and look into his very happy eyes.

George comes with me into all the normal shops we have to go into for our school things. The good thing about being of age though is I can just send all the bags and packages back to my room as soon as I get them, which makes walking around Diagon Alley much more enjoyable.

"We should probably sit and talk somewhere. I have loads to tell you." George says to me.

"Likewise."

We end up stopping at the ice cream parlour. George buys me a cone of chocolate raspberry swirl even after I insisted that I could buy my own. We sit at one of the tables out in the sun and watch people pass by. Most of them are parents and Hogwarts students as they scramble to get their things for the year.

"Where should we start?" George says to me.

I lick a part of the ice cream that is dripping down the cone a bit. "I know you want to know so would you please just ask about it?"

George nods. "Did it hurt?" George asks. He looks at my left forearm but I shake my right one so he knows what side it's on.

"It was the worst pain I've ever felt in my entire life. It felt like my whole body was on fire. I did my best to distract myself from it though. I thought of being in your arms so hard it felt like you were actually hugging me."

George's nose turns pink. "I wish I could have gotten it done instead of you. I don't like ever thinking that you are in pain."

I put my hand over top of his and squeeze it, "I would never wish this on my worst enemy, let alone my favourite person. Please, never say that you wish you had it ever again."

George nods, "Right sorry... Does it hurt anymore though? Like when you first got it done I understand it hurt but now that it's healed?"

I nod my head and lick my ice cream some more, "It starts to burn randomly. Which I've learned is the Dark Lords' way of calling the Death Eaters to him when he needs them." I pause, "When he needs us."

"So you've seen him? You've met He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named?"

I nod a couple of times, "He calls me by my first names. Makes me kiss his cheek every time he sees me."

George shivers, "I hate that."

"I do too but it's not like we can say no to him. He killed a person right on my dining table the day I showed up at Grimmauld place."

George stops licking his ice cream, "He did what?"

"Right in front of where Emma and I were sitting too. Miles and Clarissa were sitting further down the table but they were there none the less. All because the poor bloke said that he had to take care of his mother after the war so he had to deny that he was associated with the Dark Lord."

"I want you out of that house," George says to me.

I laugh, "You think I don't want me out of that house? I'm so fucking thrilled that I get to go to Hogwarts tomorrow you have no fucking idea."

George wipes the table with a napkin trying to clean up all the drips from his half-eaten ice cream, "Sirius said that he's going to be rebuilding his army. Is that true? Like there's rumours that he's been in contact with the giants and stuff."

"Well he's recruited more than half of my year so I'm going to say that Sirius is right on the money with that one. There was talk about his followers in Azkaban but he sent me and the others who are still in Hogwarts away for that conversation."

George looks at me blankly, "You don't think he's going to try and get his followers out of Azkaban do you?"

"Not a clue."

"But that would mean that..."

"I would get to meet my parents."


	122. Part 5, Chapter 5

George looks at me and smiles sadly, "Do you want to meet them? I mean you've never really talked about it."

I shrug my shoulders, "I never talked about it because I never thought it could happen. Some part of me has always wanted my mother's approval you know?"

"I want to say that I can relate but I really can't in this situation. My mum might hate the idea of Fred and I starting a joke shop but she's still going to be there for us and shit. I dunno what it's like not to have that."

I finish my ice cream and wipe my mouth with a napkin, "It doesn't feel great." I look at George and I can tell that he has something on his mind, "What's up with you?"

"I don't think we'll ever see Percy again," George says.

My heart breaks a little. Family is a really big thing in George's life, even if he didn't ever get along with Percy. "baby I'm sure that he'll forgive you and Fred for pulling jokes and things..."

"No, not just me and Fred. The entire family. I don't think he's coming back." George snaps. He instantly regrets saying it like that by the look on his face but I don't take it personally.

"What happened? If you don't mind me asking."

George looks at me and smiles, "You could ask me anything and I wouldn't mind it. Percy and Dad had a row. I've never heard Dad scream like he did, usually its always mum that does the yelling." Which is very much true, all the time I've spent with the Weasleys, Arthur almost never does the screaming or the disciplining.

"What about?"

George takes a deep breath, "It was the first week after we've come back from Hogwarts, and we were about to come and join the Order. Percy came by talking about this big promotion he's got. Which was surprising because he got in so much trouble with the whole Crouch thing. He came in all happy and pleased with himself cause he was offered junior assistant to the minister which is really good for someone who's just gotten out of Hogwarts. He thought dad would be right pleased about that one."

"Junior assistant? Sounds dodgy to me." I say to George.

He nods, "That's what we were all thinking. Anyways, Fudge has been coming down really hard on people who support Dumbledore recently, after the whole 'I know I shouldn't be telling you this but...' speech he gave us last year at the feast. Dad says that Fudge made it perfectly clear that if you're in leagues with Dumbledore than you should just clean out your desks and head off home."

"And your dad is a big supporter of Dumbledore, which means that Fudge is probably just using Percy to get information about your family," I say.

George taps his index finger on his temple and points it at me, a thing he's picked up from me that means 'exactly what I'm thinking'. "And dad told him just that, that Fudge is just using him to get information. Course Percy went completely berserk, started saying loads of awful things. Said that he's been having to struggle and fight against dad's lousy reputation ever since he started at the ministry."

"Oh god," I whisper.

George nods grimly, "You think that's bad, he told dad that he's got no ambition and that's why we've never had any money."

I reach across the table and put my hand on top of the one that George has got resting on the table, "Baby..."

"He said that dad's an idiot for running around with Dumbledore all these years, that Dumbledore's going down and taking dad with him. Then he said that if dad was going to act like a traitor to the ministry he was going to make sure and certain that everyone knew that he didn't belong to our family. Packed his bags that night. He lives in London now."

George looks as if he's just been shot. I pick up his hand and kiss his knuckles softly, "I'm sorry that happened to you."

George smiles a bit, "Well it made me think of you actually. Like the roles are reversed. You want to leave and do good, and you're trying your hardest to say for the people you care about. With Percy, he is just following the pack and is leaving everyone that cares about him. I dunno it doesn't really make sense when I say it out loud but it makes sense in my head."

I chuckle a bit, "Nah it makes sense in a weird sort of you really have to think about it way."

George still looks like something is bothering him. "Are you sure that's all?" I say to him.

"It feels weird. Feels different. I can't talk to you about everything that you know and you can't tell me everything that you know. It's like I lost the person I could tell everyone too." He says it softly like he never wanted to tell me how he was feeling.

It hurts, it definitely hurts but it's the truth. I don't know if the Dark Lord knows, or really, cares if I am so close with the Weasleys who are the leading force in the rebellion against him. George can tell that what he's said has hurt me and he squeezes my hand, "I know you wouldn't tell them anything. But I also know that they are perfectly fine using the Cruciatus curse against anyone and anything that they desire. I don't want that to happen to you."

"And if I tell you things than you and your loyal heart that I love so much about you will go and tell the rest of the Order."

George stands up and pulls me out of my own chair, he then holds me against him and sighs, "This isn't it, is it? We can survive this?"

"I honestly don't know."

George hugs me tighter, "Promise me something?" He whispers into my hair.

I pull away so I can look him in the eyes, "Yeah anything."

"Don't break up with me till the end of the year? After we're done at Hogwarts? Cause if we do end up breaking things off I don't think I would be able to see you in the corridors all the time."

His eyes start to well up with tears and I can feel mine doing the same thing, "I'm going to need you to promise me the same thing then. Not till the end of the year alright?"

I step away from him and jut my hand out for a handshake. He takes it and shakes it three times and smiles. "I can't believe we just shook on our possible breakup."

"Strange times there Weasley. Strange times."


	123. Part 5, Chapter 6

The next day Aunt Narcissa woke Draco and me up very early. Once again telling us that they can't take us to Kings Cross so they've organized a ministry car to take us.

"All packed and ready?" I say to Draco as I stand at the top of the stairs watching Norby take my things down to load them into the car.

Draco looks at me from the doorway to his room, "Uhm yeah, yeah I've got everything." He says awkwardly.

"Draco... I'm sorry."

Draco steps from his room and comes over to me, "I'm the one that should be sorry. You've just been trying to protect me from stuff..."

My arm starts to burn, "Ah fuck." I wince and shake my arm out, "I'm needed downstairs apparently."

Draco looks at me, "But we have to leave soon."

I half-smile at him, "I'll be done before we have to leave." I rush down the stairs, passed Norby and walk into the dining room which has been practically converted into the designated meeting spot for the Death Eaters.

"My Lord..." I bow slightly and look up at him.

The Dark Lord gestures me to sit at the table with him, "My child... I know that your parents risked it all for me, they're loyal."

I put my hands in my lap and look at him, "Yes my Lord, they adored you. Put you before everyone else in their lives."

"Then why is it... that you do not do the same?" He says slowly, carefully, but his words are evil, menacing.

"I'm sorry I have not been vocal with my support my Lord. It has been difficult to get used to."

The Dark Lord seems to have bought my lie. He nods slowly, "And that understandable... It is your last year at Hogwarts correct?"

"Yes my Lord."

"I expect you to show your devotion more after your education is completed."

I nod, "Of course my Lord. Thank you for understanding my Lord."

The Dark Lord smiles, "And if all goes well you will have your parents here waiting for you on your return."

My heart feels like it stops beating, I forget how to breathe, "My Lord?"

The Dark Lord stands from the table and I do the same, "Do not fret little one. Go to school and come back with grades you will be proud of."

I bow to him again and walk out of the room. Draco is standing in the front foyer when I get there. "Is everything alright?"

I shake my head, "not here." I whisper so quietly I can't even hear myself.

Uncle Lucius and Aunt Narcissa come out of the living room and stand in front of us, "Have a fantastic year you two." Aunt Narcissa says. She gives both me and Draco a hug. "Violet, we are so proud of you. Make this last year count."

"I will yeah. Thank you." I look at Uncle Lucius, half expecting him to say something but he just nods at Draco and me.

Norby opens the front door for us and Draco and I start the long walk down the front pathway and out to the gate where the car is waiting. As soon as Draco and I close our doors the driver speeds away.

"Tell me," Draco says shortly.

I look at the back of the driver's head and then at Draco. "It appears, that my mother and father will be coming for a visit when we return from Hogwarts." I say, "They're coming back from their vacation about halfway through the year."

Draco's eyes go wide. He goes to say something but I nudge my head towards the driver to remind him that we aren't alone, "Isn't their... vacation supposed to last a lot longer than that though?"

"A lot longer. But due to all the things that are happening this year... me leaving Hogwarts and things..." The driver looks at us through the mirror but doesn't say anything. "Anyways..."

We don't talk for the rest of the ride to Kings Cross. When we get there the driver finds us trollies and Draco and I head to the platform. I drag my things into the car that I normally sit in then I help Draco get his things into the very last car where the Slytherins tend to sit.

"See you at Hogwarts," Draco says to me.

I go to ruffle his hair but I stop myself, he's getting too old for that. "Don't do anything stupid. Try staying in the car with your friends this year instead of bullying Harry?"

Draco rolls his eyes, "Well how else am I supposed to see him this year?" He says quietly.

I step forward and whisper in his ear, "Try talking to him when it's just you and him. Friends make things difficult."

I turn around and walk through the train back to where my stuff is. I pass a few people on the way and they all give me the same look of distaste and nervousness. I go into the compartment and wait for the rest of my friends. Emma's the next to arrive. She's wearing her normal frilly pale-coloured clothes again but she definitely does not look like the Emma from last year. She's got a long sleeve cardigan over top of her shirt and she's holding it around her tightly.

She comes in and sits beside me, letting the door slam behind her. "How're things?" I ask her.

She looks at me and laughs, "Oh you know. I had to go shopping for practically all new clothes given none of my dresses had sleeves." She stops smiling, "How has George taken all this?"

I look down at the floor, "Well we've decided that if it comes to us having to break up, we won't do that till after we're done at Hogwarts. One last year full of laughs and secret late-night rendezvous before we have to actually become adults."

Emma puts her hand on my knee, I look back at her and smile, "I'm not going to let you break up with me though. We're in this one together." She says.

I lean my head on her shoulder and sigh. Emma wraps her arms around me, "There's not a chance in the world that I'll leave you."

Walter comes in next. He looks at Emma and me and frowns a bit, "How are you two? My fathers been telling me about a bunch of things, his Mark has been burning all summer." He sits down and looks at the two of us.

"It fucking hurts when it burns," Emma says.

I nod in agreement and Walter goes pink, "Shit sorry, I forgot that you two have it now."

"I wish I could forget," I mumble.

Walter breathes out of his nose very loudly, "Fathers worried that He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named is going to find where we live now and kill us all."

I sit up properly and look at him, "I won't let that happen."

"You can't promise that though." He says.

I reach across the compartment and put my hand on his knee, "The Dark Lord set up camp in my house. If I ever hear whisperings about your family I'll be over right away and warn you. I promise." Walter smiles.

"Speaking of family..." Emma says. She looks at me waiting to finish her sentence.

Walter looks between us, "What about family?" He asks.

I take a deep breath, "The Dark Lord has plans to get my parents out of Azkaban. Before Draco and I left actually, he pulled me away from everyone and told me to bring home grades that my parents will be proud of. Says that when I get back home that they'll be waiting for me."

"Shut up," Walter says.

I shrug, "He also said that he's not impressed with me and my lack of devotion to him and his cause. I think he knows that I've been sneaking around with George this summer."

That part Emma didn't know, she looks at me but I don't look at her or else I will definitely start to cry. "Are you sure he knows though?"

"Pretty sure he does but I'm also still alive and breathing so I don't think he cares? I dunno he said that after I'm done at Hogwarts he expects me to be completely devoted to him. I said I would."

"Which means you're going to have to break it off with George." Walter says softly.

That does it for me, I feel pinpricks in my eyes and tears start to fall down my face, "That means I'm going to have to break it off with George. And I know that I promised him that if we do end up breaking up that I wouldn't do it till the end of the year but like... I don't know at this point."

"Don't let him control your life at Hogwarts. It's bad enough he's living in your house." Emma says. Walter nods in agreement.

The door slides open. "Why'd you all look like someone's died? It's our last year!" Fred says happily. He plops down on the bench beside Walter. George sits beside me and puts his arm around my shoulders.

Right before the train pulls away Lee comes barging into the compartment, "Almost missed the fucking train." He says breathlessly.

He sits down beside Walter and pecks his cheek. "What are we all talking about?"


	124. Part 5, Chapter 7

About halfway through the ride to Hogwarts George nudges me and whispers into my ear, "I gotta go to the bathroom..." He kisses the top of my ear, "Want to come with me?"

I look at him, "You need my help or something? Want me to hold it for you?" I whisper back to him.

George winks, "Something like that." He gets up from the bench and walks out of the compartment.

"Where's he off too?" Fred asks me.

I turn to look at him, "I don't think you want to know." I stand up and pull the compartment door open the door, "Given I'm going to go meet him and everything." I wink at my friends and they all start to whistle.

I walk out of the compartment and down the hall to the bathrooms at the end of the car. I knock politely on the door and George sticks his head out. He pulls me in which makes me scream a little and he closes and locks the door behind him.

"I've missed you," George says. He attaches his lips to my neck and starts kissing me.

I laugh and push him off me a bit, "You saw me yesterday."

George looks into my eyes, "I'm not allowed to miss my girlfriend?" He says. He then spins me around and lifts me up onto the sink, his hands on my hips.

I look at him and run my fingers through his hair, tugging on it a little, he groans at my touch. "How much did you miss me?" I say to him.

He slowly moves one of his hands from my hip to the back of my neck. He steps closer and pulls me into him a bit, his other hand on the small of my back. He starts to kiss me and I kiss him right back. Hard, passionate, very hot.

George moves his hands to the front of my shirt and starts to unbutton it. I pull away from him and help him a bit cause he seems to be struggling. And at this moment, I forget I have the Dark Mark on my arm. I forget everything that has happened this summer, all the stress I've been under, all the emotions. It's just me and him.

Till my shirt is fully off and I'm just in my pants and bra. Till he sees the Mark on my arm. Dark black, large, ugly. George stops what he's doing. He's standing in front of me shirtless. His beautiful freckles all over his arms and torso. How I wish I had freckles instead of this monstrosity.

George looks up from my arm and into my eyes. He's hurt, scared, nervous almost. I reach behind me and grab onto my shirt. But George stops me. He holds my hand, the same one that the Dark Mark is on. He looks into my eyes as he kisses the Mark. I squirm but I don't say anything. He kisses it again and again and again. It makes me uncomfortable.

George stops and puts his hands on my hips again, "I love you. Every part of you." He whispers.

I look away from him but he nudges my nose with his and brings my attention back to him, "It makes me feel disgusting, worthless. It makes me feel like I don't belong in my own body. He's marked it, claimed me as one of his. And I hate myself for letting that happen." I whisper.

George looks at me with sad eyes, "Don't talk like that about yourself... please." He whispers, his voice cracks when he says please which shatters my heart.

"I'm damaged goods," I whisper. Tears start to fall down my face. George kisses them away.

"Stop... please."

I wipe the tears off my face, "Sorry, I'm sorry. This isn't what you wanted when you asked me to come in here with you. I ruined it." I say. I hit my cheeks with my palms, "It's alright. I'm good now."

I start sucking and biting his neck but he just sort of stands there, "Violet..." He mumbles.

I stop kissing him and move so I can see him, "I want you..." I say.

"Are you sure?"

I put my hands on his head and run his hair through my fingers, "Make me feel good."

I don't know exactly how long we were in the bathroom for but when George and I have finally dressed again and stepped out of the bathroom together there's a very annoyed looking Ginny Weasley standing there. "I knew it was you two." Ginny says, she looks between the two of us, "Can't keep it in your pants? Have to get yours on the bloody train?"

I turn bright red and George laughs at his sister, "You'll understand one day Gin... Actually never mind I don't want you to ever understand."

Now it's Ginny who's bright red. "You're disgusting." She says to her brother.

"Love you too little sis," George says.

Ginny rolls her eyes and pushes past us and into the bathroom. George looks at me and we start snickering. He shoves me back towards the compartment.

When we get back Emma and Fred are arguing quietly about something and Lee and Walter are asleep on each other.

"I can't Fred, I don't want you roped into all this," Emma says.

"Violet and George are still together," Fred says.

Emma rolls her eyes, "Violet and George have been together for years. You wouldn't even introduce me as your girlfriend you your mother."

"Don't start with me on that, I told you I wasn't ready..." Fred looks up and notices that George and I are back. "Hey, guys."

"Are we interrupting something?" George asks his brother.

"no," Emma says shortly.

"yes." Fred snaps.

George and I look at each other, "We should go..." George says to me.

"No, Violet and I should go, make face in the Slytherin car and everything before we get to Hogwarts. You say here, George." Emma says standing up.

George looks at me and I nod. He pecks my cheek and Emma and him move around each other so they are now sanding in each other's spots. "Shouldn't you wake up Walter if your going?" George looks at me.

I look over at Walter, he's still curled up with Lee fast asleep, he's got a small smile on his lips. "Nah let him sleep. His family's not wound up in all this and I don't want to worry him."

Emma and I head out of the compartment and down the hall. "Have you shown anyone your Mark yet?" I ask Emma.

Emma shakes her head, "No, no one but my parents and the other Death Eaters. It makes me feel..."

"Dirty?" I finish her sentence.

Emma looks up at me, "Yeah, dirty."

I sigh, "I haven't shown anyone, besides Draco. Till today. George saw it."

"I mean I figured he would with you two gone for so long." Emma bumps her hip into me and I laugh a bit.

"He kissed it."

She stops walking, "He did what?"

I turn around and look at her, "Yeah, kissed it. A few times."

Emma shivers, "I hate that."

"I kind of did too. It forced me to acknowledge it you know?"

Emma nods, "Come on then. I'm sure everyone is waiting for some uppity knowledge from their leader."

"Leader?"

Emma laughs, "Don't deny it, everyone sort of looks up to you for guidance and shit. You're like the unofficial Slytherin leader. The Slytherin mummy if you will."

"That's disgusting."


	125. Part 5, Chapter 8

When we get to Hogwarts Emma and I run back to the boy's compartment and grab our trunks and things out and haul them down and out onto the platform.

"Violet, didn't Draco make Prefect this year?" Lee yawns as we walk to the self pulling carriages.

"Oh right. Yeah, I suppose he did." I say, "We got in a fight at the beginning of summer holidays so we haven't been speaking much."

George puts his arm around my shoulders and kisses my temple.

Emma stops in her tracks. I look at her but she's staring straight ahead. Curious I turn to see what she's looking at. Attached to the carriages are skinny black horse-like creatures. They don't seem to have fur or anything. They have big leathery wings coming out of their backs and a hooked nose that looks like a bird's beak.

"What are those things?" Emma asks. Everyone looks at where we are looking.

Fred laughs, "They're carriages Em, we've been riding in them for years?"

Lee, Walter, and George laugh too. George stops though when he sees the look on my face. "Violet?"

I shake my head, "Somethings pulling the carriages this year. Don't tell me you can't see those things." I say to my friends.

They all look back at the carriages, "There's nothing there Violet. Are you feeling alright?"

"They look like... if bats and horses had a kid." I explain to George, "Only their massive creatures."

We go up to a nearby carriage and load ourselves onto it. Emma and I keep staring at the horse things that are now pulling us up the trail to Hogwarts.

"They could be Thestrals," Lee suggests. "They sound like them from your description at least. Only people who have witnessed death can see them."

The boys all look at Emma and I. George knows that the Dark Lord killed someone in front of Emma and I but the rest of them don't. "What happened over the summer?" Fred says to Emma. He puts his hand on her leg but she brushes him away.

"I hope none of you ever see Thestrals," I grumble.

When we get to the castle George hops out of the carriage first and helps me down. We walk into the castle hand in hand before Emma, Walter, and I head over to the Slytherin table.

As soon as we sit down the sorting begins. Like usual the hat breaks out into song, something about the houses and how each of them is great in their own special way blah blah blah. After the sorting Dumbledore essentially just tells us to start eating and food appears.

"It just hit me... Cedric's not going to be around this year." Emma says.

People around us stop what they are doing and look over at her for a moment before going back to their own conversations. "No one to organize drunken study sessions..." Walter says sadly.

"To Ced." I clink my glass of pumpkin juice against Emma and Walters glasses and down the entire thing.

Once everyone is done eating the noise in the great hall starts to get louder. But when Dumbledore stands everyone shuts up

"Well now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start of term notices." Dumbledore says, "First years ought to know that the forest in the grounds is out-of-bounds to students- and a few older students ought to know by now too."

"Tell that to the boys," Emma whispers.

"Mister Filch has asked me, for what he tells me is the four-hundred-and-sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mister Filches office door."

"Give you a sickle that canary creams are on that list," I say to my friends.

"It's what Fred and George want, to piss Filch off with their candies." Emma snorts.

Dumbledore starts talking again, "We have had two changes in staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank..." A few students giggle at the name, "...who will be taking care of Care of Magical Creatures lessons, we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Everyone starts to politely applaud the new teachers. Looking at the staff table I can make out the two new teachers but one of them stands out. "The hell is that woman wearing?" Emma whispers. I know exactly who she's talking about. There's a very short woman sitting at the staff table, wearing nothing but pink, head to toe. Now I'm not a very big fan of pink normally but this woman looks as if she just rolled out of an Easter egg basket.

"Tryouts for the house Quidditch teams will take place on the-"

Dumbledore is cut off by a little 'hem hem' from the woman wearing the disastrous pink clothing. She's now standing at her seat and is walking around the table to the front podium where Dumbledore is standing.

"Jesus look at his face," Emma says smiling. Dumbledore looks as if he's just bitten into a vomit flavoured Bertie Botts every flavour bean.

The woman comes up to the podium beside Dumbledore. Dumbledore surprisingly takes a seat and lets her speak.

"Thank you, Headmaster. For your kind words of welcome." The woman says in her high pitched voice. I instantly frown, there's something about this woman that rubs me the wrong way and by the look on everyone else faces I can tell that this woman doesn't sit well with anyone else either.

"I want to punch her," I whisper. Walter looks at me with a smirk on his face. "What? She's got a very punchable face."

"As your Headmaster said, I am Professor Umbridge." She does another one of those stupid hem hem things and my wand hand twitches, how I want to hex her toad-like head off of her broad, pink shoulders. "It is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say! And to see such happy little faces looking up at me."

I look around the room, not a single person is smiling which makes me want to laugh really hard.

"I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all and I'm sure that we will be very good friends!" The way that her voice got all high pitched when she said the word friends makes my entire body tense up.

"Fred and George are going to give her hell I can already sense it." Walter whispers which makes me laugh. I follow it quickly with a cough to try and cover it up. Emma snorts and immediately covers her face with her hands.

Umbridge hem hems again and I feel myself wanting to jump over the table and hit that damned hat off her head. But when she speaks her voice is a lot less airy and a lot more professional, "The ministry of magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the wizarding community must be passed down the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished, and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching."

"Sounds a lot like she supports the idea of pure blood if you ask me," Walter whispers.


	126. Part 5, Chapter 9

Umbridge's speech goes on and on for what feels like years. Once everyone is finished talking or whatever I watch as Draco and his friend Pansy stand from the table and gather the first years together to show them the way to the common room.

"Can't believe your cousin is in charge," Emma says as we walk slowly through the crowd and out into the corridor.

"Bet you that his father got Snape to give him the position," I say to my friends.

George, Fred, and Lee are waiting by the staircase for us all. I nudge a small Ravenclaw student out of my way so we can all go over to them.

"What do you think of Umbridge? A ministry worker in Hogwarts?" Lee asks us.

Fred and George look at each other and smirk, "Sounds like a great way to test our Skiving Snack boxes." Fred says beaming.

"Skiving Snack boxes? Which one of you idiots came up with that name?" Emma says.

"Fred did," George says.

Emma rolls her eyes, "Course he did."

"Did any of you catch the part where she said every single 'P' word she knew? Preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfecting, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited" Walter says in a near-perfect impersonation of our new professor. He puts emphasis on every single 'P' which means that he sprays us all with spit.

George wipes his face with his sleeve but he's laughing none the less. "Fred and I should head out. We've got posters to make."

"Posters?"

Fred smiles like a little kid on Christmas morning, "We've got to try and get people to test our products because we can't do it ourselves anymore. It takes a lot out of a person you know."

"We're going to be hiring a couple dumb first years to do it for us. But we've got to make the posters first." Fred and George head up the stairs.

"hem hem!" I say mimicking Umbridge. Fred and George turn around and look at me.

George smiles and hops over the stair railing. He pulls me towards him and plants one big kiss on my lips, even doing the 'MMHWA' sound for extra effect. He winks at me and runs back up the stairs with Fred.

Lee kisses Walter and follows the boys up the stairs.

"Do you think that your mother will write to you once she's free?" Emma asks me as we walk down into the dungeons.

"Doubt it... but who knows honestly. It's not like I really know her as a person." I say. Emma opens the common room door and we all head inside.

"And where were you three?" Draco says coming up to us, his very polished prefect badge on his chest.

"None of your business Dray," I say to him.

"Actually it is my business given I'm a Prefect and all." Draco sort of shimmies his shoulders and smiles broadly.

I pat him on the shoulder and start walking away from him, "Prefect? More like designated tattle-tale." I call out to him.

My friends and I go over to the glass wall in the back of the common room, I snap a few times and point upwards and the students that were sitting on the couches get up and dash off somewhere.

Fergus and the common room cat dash past us in a feline game of tag, "Wonder if that fucker will ever die? It must be at least twenty years old at this point." Emma says pulling a big blanket into her lap.

"Dunno, the common room is full of some serious magic so I wouldn't be surprised if that cat lives forever," Walter says.

I yawn really loudly and stretch out my arms, my sleeve raises a bit so you can see a little bit of the Mark. I quickly pull my sleeve down, hopefully, no one else saw. When Emma and I went to talk to the other Slytherins we all learned that every one our year now has the Mark. All but Walter of course which means that his secret is going to come out into the open any day now. That he's a half-blood and all.

"We should probably head to bed, we've all got charms tomorrow morning and lord knows it's going to be awful." Emma yawns.

"Have you read through the things we have to study this year? It's mad, the gouging spell, blackboard writing, cleaning charms, blue sparks..." I start listing off all the chapters I saw in my new charms textbook when I was flipping through it in Flourish and Blotts.

"You forgot the best one, the reductor curse," Walter says happily.

Emma groans, "There's a lot of things that I consider to be worthy of the word best, the reductor curse is not one of them."

Walter and I both start laughing, "What the bloody hell was that sentence? Who are you? Madam Pince?" I laugh. Emma cracks a smile.

We do all decide to head to bed though, mostly just so I have an excuse to change out of my school robes. Now that I know what kind of things schools like Beauxbaton have to wear I'm definitely glad I go to Hogwarts and just have to wear black robes but they still aren't very comfortable.

When Emma and I get into our dorm, Clarissa and Miriam are already in their pyjamas and sitting on top of their beds. "How were your summers?" Miriam asks us.

"Bloody awful that's how my summer was," I grumble. I quickly change out of my school things and into my pyjamas. I don't bother with my usual long sleeve satin shirt and I just wear a tank top and my satin bottoms.

I crawl into bed and look at my friends... well no friends isn't the right word... but they're more than dormmates at this point... anyways. "Is it just me or did anyone's Mark burn earlier?" I ask them.

Miriam's right hand instantly touches her left forearm when I say the word Mark, "Mine did too, like halfway through the feast I think."

"Speaking of feast, did you get a load of that woman? Professor Umbridge?" Clarissa says her name in a super high pitched voice which makes us all laugh. I've forgotten how funny Clarissa can be, given we haven't had an actual conversation in nearly four years.

"Defense is on Friday. I'm sure we'll hear stories of her teaching techniques before then so we are at least a little prepared." Miriam says. Emma's the only one in the room that isn't in NEWT level Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"We've got charms tomorrow morning so I'm going to call it a night," I say to everyone. I pull my covers over myself and lie my head on my pillow. "Night everyone."

"I should probably head to bed as well given I'm in that class," Miriam says. Her, Emma, and I all blow out the candles that are on our bedside table and the room gets significantly darker, only a pale flicker of light is coming from the corner that Clarissa's bed is in.


	127. Part 5, Chapter 10

The next morning Emma wakes me up by throwing her pillow at me, "Come on let's go."

I get out of bed and flick my hand at my bed and the sheets straighten themselves out. I grab my Charms textbook, some parchment, and a few new quills and put it all into my school bag. I get changed into my school robes and make sure that my Mark is fully covered before I start doing my hair.

"I wonder if foundation would cover it..." Emma says. I turn to look at her my hands still fiddling with my hair, "The Dark Mark I mean. If it can cover my pimples I'm sure it can cover it."

I shove my wand in the bun I've just made on the top of my head and look at her. "I dunno. The Dark Lord might... know that your trying to cover it? I dunno how it works but I bet that he's got some sort of tracking thing in it."

Emma looks at it once more before she pulls her sleeve down and shrugs. We pick up our bookbags at the same time and head out of the dorm and out into the corridor that connects the dorms to the common room. Draco is sitting in one of the big armchairs just staring into the green flames in the fireplace.

"Hey... everything alright here?" I say coming up to him.

Draco shakes himself out of whatever he was thinking about, "Oh? Yeah no, I'm alright." I look over my shoulder at Emma and she takes the hint.

"I'm pretty sure Walter is already out in the great hall so I'm going to meet him. I'll save you a seat Vi." I wait for her to leave the common room before I do anything else.

I drop my book bag to the floor and sit on the coffee table so I'm right in front of Draco, knee's touching. "Spill. And don't give me any of that 'oh I'm alright' crap."

Draco groans and leans back into the chair, "It's nothing bad or anything... It's just... well, I saw Harry yesterday."

I smile a bit, "Yeah that tends to happen when you go to school with someone, you see them in the halls."

"Well I didn't like seeing him... only I sort of did... is it normal to get a sick kind of feeling in your stomach when you see someone you fancy after a long time of not seeing them" He looks up at me with wide, curious eyes that makes my heart melt.

"Yeah, that's pretty normal," I say smiling.

"It sucks."

That makes me laugh, "It really does doesn't it?"

"How do you make it stop? I don't want to feel like this anymore."

I tickle his knee a bit, "I don't think you can make it stop Dray, not really. It takes time to get over a crush."

Draco leans back into his chair and covers his face with his hands, "Well how did you make it stop when you liked George?"

"I kissed him."

Draco takes his hands off his face, "Oh yeah totally. Let me just go up to Harry fucking Potter..."

"Language Draco..."

"And just shove my tongue down his throat in front of everyone? That would help my situation. You should start selling your advice it's really fantastic." Draco says, his words dripping with sarcasm.

"Well I wouldn't go right into shoving things down throats but maybe you could have a conversation with him in private? Or you know, we used to have little study parties, everyone in our year met up in an empty classroom to study for our OWLs. You could organize a few of those, spend time with Harry in an informal setting."

Draco raises one of his eyebrows, a skill I have yet to master, "Did you actually? Have your entire year all in a room studying?"

I smile at the memories I have of getting drunk with everyone in my year and trying to master some spells, "Well it was mostly just getting drunk and challenging people to turn plates into mushrooms and things but yeah, we got some stuff done."

Draco smirks, "You got drunk at school?"

"Loads of times." I look at him with my eyebrows raised, "Don't act like you don't have at least one bottle of wine in your trunk right now cause I fully saw you steal it from the cellar before we left."

Draco laughs, "Even if I did organize a study session like that. All my friends would be there, all his friends would be there. It would get awkward."

I stand up from the coffee table and pick my bag up off the floor, "I dunno Dray, a little bit of drunk competition can lead to a lot more sexual tension than you may think." I pat him on the top of his head, "Don't be late for class."

Right before I walk into the common room someone grabs my arm and drags me into a broom closet that's nearby.

"What the hell are you doing?" I say, a little panicked

"Is Emma alright? She won't talk to me." Fred says

I look into Fred's eyes, "You're joking? You dragged me into a broom closet to ask me about Emma? You couldn't have just asked me as we are walking down the hallway?"

"She would see us talking and then ask you about it. And I'm trusting that my best friend would keep things discussed between us to themselves." Fred says with his eyebrows raised.

"Best friend? When have I ever been your best friend?" I ask, fully joking of course.

"You've been dating my twin brother for like five years, you've spent nights at my house, met my family and shit. You're apart of the family. Now tell me. Is she alright?"

"Did George tell you anything that I've told him?"

Fred shakes his head no, "I'm completely in the dark about everything. Look I know you can't tell me loads because I'm in the Order and everything and you could get in serious trouble if you told me a bunch but... I'm worried about her."

"Well you know she's got the Mark now yeah?" Fred nods, "It hurts a lot to get it done like your whole arm is on fire and it makes you dizzy. Then it burns really bad every time the Dark Lord wants you. You have to apparate a lot which messes with your head at first but you get used to it."

"Why can she see the Thestrals or whatever they're called? Why can you?" Fred asks.

I take a deep breath, it's not something I want to relive but the look in his eyes makes me do it, "We can see them for the same reason I'm pretty sure. The first meeting we were at, it was on the same day that we showed up to Grimmauld place to talk to Sirius. Anyways, one of the Death Eaters, I don't even know his name, tried to tell the Dark Lord why he didn't tell the ministry he was supportive of the Dark Lord after the war."

"Who would admit to something like that though?"

I hit his shoulder, "Would you let me finish? I'm starving."

"Ow fuck yeah go on." Fred rubs the spot where I've hit him.

"Anyways, the Dark Lord wasn't very happy with this, the fact that the man wasn't devoted to the cause as much as he should be. He levitated him way up till he hit the ceiling then let him drop back down onto the table, which is made of marble so it must have hurt loads. The number of times I've stubbed my toe on that table as a kid, I couldn't imagine falling onto it."

"Now who's wasting time," Fred says with a half-smile on his face.

I roll my eyes, "Well after the man fell he was just lying there for a moment then he tried to beg the Dark Lord for his life, or I think that's what he was going to do. He didn't get the chance to say anything other than 'My Lord' before the Dark Lord used the killing curse on him. Hit him right in the head."

Fred sucks on his teeth, "And you both saw this?"

"Hard not too, the man fell from the ceiling and landed right in front of us both. My uncle had to dispose of the body. I think that the Dark Lord did it to show us, the new recruits, his youngest children he calls us, what would happen if he thought that we weren't devoted enough to him."

"Jesus..."

"And George doesn't know this part, and I don't think I want him to know so you better keep your mouth shut Weasley."

Fred draws his fingers over his mouth and pretends to lock it closed, "Before I left the Dark Lord pretty much told me that he wasn't impressed with my devotion or lack thereof. Which means he probably knows that I'm friends with you lot. And if he knows that, and I don't change who I associate myself with, I'm scared that I'm going to be the next person he kills."

Fred's face goes slack, "So... if you keep seeing George... if you keep talking to us..."

"Then I'm pretty sure I'll be killed."

We stand in silence for a long while, till my stomach grumbles and reminds us both that its breakfast. Fred opens the cupboard door and we both walk out. I say goodbye to Fred and go sit with my friends.

"Where did you go? We saw you heading into the hall then you disappeared." Emma asks me as she mixes cinnamon into her oatmeal.

"George kidnapped me for a minute," I say forcing a smile.

Emma and Walter laugh, "You two are ridiculous." Walter says with his mouth full of food.


	128. Part 5, Chapter 11

Fred and George don't walk with us to Charms, they ran out of breakfast early no doubly trying to sell a few of their joke things before class. We do, however, meet up with Lee and head out to Charms together.

"Did the boys get their signs done?" I ask Lee. He's hand in hand with Walter and giggling about something that Wally just told him.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, they put one up on the Gryffindor common room but Hermione tore it down. They've got a few other ones that they've managed to get people to put in their common rooms. Surprised they haven't asked you to put one in with the Slytherins yet."

As if on cue, Fred and George turn a corner and come up to us smiling, "Just made twenty galleons!" Fred says happily shaking a coin purse above his head.

"Hey, beautiful," George says coming up to me and pecking me on the cheek.

"What were you two selling this time?" Walter asks the boys.

Fred falls in line with us, walking beside Lee, George squishes between Emma and me so he can have his hand in the back pocket of my trousers. "Extendable Ears! We've just created them, they work wonders if you're trying to listen in on meetings that you're not allowed to be apart of." Fred says.

"Five galleons per ear! Really one of my most favourite products we have at the moment. Useful little buggers they are." The charms classroom door isn't open yet when we get there so we mill around outside of it.

"So you've only sold four?" Emma says looking at Fred with a distasteful look on her face.

"Only sold four in the past half hour yeah. Sold ten of them last night in the common room much to our Prefects dismay." Fred says, even Emma's comments can't tear him out of the happy mood he's in right now.

"And by Prefects, he means just Hermione. Ron would rather die than try to tell us what to do." George says.

"Who the hell made Ronald a Prefect?" I ask the boys.

They both shrug, "Dunno but mums over the moon about it, 'That's everyone in the family!' like George and I just live next door and come round for dinner." Fred says with a huff of air.

"Oi if you're going to steal my joke at least say it properly," George says to his brother.

"My way sounds better."

George rolls his eyes, a definite habit that he's picked up from spending so much time with me, "Yours is so long-winded, mine got right to the point 'next-door neighbours' see? Simple and effective."

"Why the sudden need for recognition?"

"It's my joke!"

"Oh right I forgot, it takes you about four months to come up with a new joke so I better give credit where credit is due."

George sticks his tongue out at Fred and Fred does it right back. "You two are children," I say laughing.

"You sound like mum." Fred says smiling, "What's so wrong with being childish? We all need to laugh, especially recently."

Flitwick opens the classroom door and we file in, taking up residence in the back of the classroom like we did last year. The rest of the class slowly appears, it looks like everyone is taking the same seats as they did last year. There's one empty desk though, the second row from the front, three desks to the right, Cedric's old desk.

Flitwick turns around to face everyone, "Right then." He starts, he looks at the empty desk and stops talking for a moment, the room gets uncomfortable. It feels like we've lost Cedric eons ago but it's only been two months. Hufflepuff students Bethany and Katherine excuse themselves from the room for a moment.

Flitwick blinks and looks out to the entire class, "I know, that we are missing someone in our class. Someone that should be here, answering all my questions and making sure that no one falls too far behind. And I am so dreadfully sorry that you lost one of your own."

George reaches across the gap between our desks and holds onto my hand, I know that he still feels awful for the things he said to and about Cedric before he passed. I stroke my thumb up and down his hand slowly.

"But it wouldn't be fair to Cedric, for you all to give up on your studies. I expect you to work hard this year, harder than you ever have in this class, and make sure that Cedric's memory lives on through all of you. You must graduate from Hogwarts because his chance at graduating was taken from him."

Bethany and Katherine come back into the room, their eyes are puffy, their noses red. Flitwick waits for them to be seated to continue, "Take out your parchment and quills, today is a lecture class, I want you to write down exactly as I say. Blue sparks!"

The room is full of shuffling noises as people try to get their things out as fast as possible. My eyes drift over to Cedric's empty desk. I can almost hear his laugh echoing throughout the classroom. I shake myself out of it and dip my quill in my inkpot.

"Not any different from red sparks honestly, dunno why we have to have a whole section on blue sparks when you've learned about red sparks before but nevertheless." Flitwick continues, "Blue sparks, or well any spark, can be used as a way to warn someone, to spread information quickly between large distances, and also in minor duels as a form of stunning method. And given you've all learned about how to use them in a casual setting I believe I may focus on using this charm in a defensive, or rather, offensive way this year."

Three and a half hours later the bell rings signalling its time for lunch. My hand is sore from holding onto my quill so tightly. Everyone starts to pack their things up, till Flitwick taps his wand on his desk, "I know that you all are very tired from your summer holidays and still emotionally drained from last year's events. However, I do need one and a half feet of parchment on the difference between red and blue sparks completed by the next class. Enjoy your lunch."

Everyone finishes packing their things and we all head out of the classroom, "We're going to have a Cedric Diggory speech in every one of our classes aren't we?" Emma says once we are out of the classroom and walking down the corridor.

"I still can't believe it's only been two months since..." Lee says. Walter puts his arm around Lee's shoulders and kisses his cheek.

"He was in all five of my classes, it doesn't feel right to continue without him you know? It's like, someone should be taking notes for him so he doesn't fall behind." I say. Everyone nods in agreement and doesn't say anything for the rest of the walk to the great hall for lunch.


	129. Part 5, Chapter 12

My friends and I decide to go out into the courtyard after lunch to get some fresh air and watch Fred and George try to sell more of their extendable ear contraptions. But before we do that we all go back to our appropriate common rooms and change out of our school uniforms.

"Good thing about NEWT years is that you only have a class a day, then you can do whatever you want after that," Emma says. She's put on a long pale lavender dress with tight sleeves so they won't move and accidentally show off her Mark. I've chosen something far more comfortable in my opinion and put on black jeans and the most recent jumper Molly has made for me. I fix my hair in the mirror and make sure that my wand is still secure on the top of my head.

"You're going to lose that wand of yours one day Violet," Walter says coming out of the boy's dorms. He's got on his standard light blue jeans, cream coloured dress shirt and a god awful sweater vest.

Walter reaches up to take my wand out of my hair but I smack his hand away, "Alright then, where do you suppose I keep it?" I say to him.

Walter pulls up his sleeve to show us some leather strap he's got around his forearm, "Father gave me his old wand holster, it comes in handy." He smiles broadly and pulls his shirt sleeve back down. He looks at Emma, "Where do you keep yours?"

Emma reaches into the pocket of her dress and pulls her wand out, "All my dresses have got wand pockets in them so I don't have to worry about it. If I'm wearing pants or something I just tuck it in between my pants and my belt like a normal person." She looks at me when she says normal.

"Haven't lost my wand once and I've been keeping it in my hair for years," I say with far more confidence than I should have. We walk out of the common room and back towards the courtyard to meet with the boys.

"No one told me it was raining," Emma says peering out of the window by the courtyard.

"Could you not hear the rain hitting the roof all Charms class?" Walter says to her.

Emma scoffs but she doesn't say anything more. I peer out the window and I can see Fred and George out in the rain talking to a group of students. "Dumbasses are going to catch a cold," I say to myself.

"You're going to make us go out there aren't you?" Walter groans.

Instead of replying I push open the door and follow along the edge of the courtyard carefully so I can stay under some form of overhead covering and not get completely drenched.

"These work fantastic! I use them all the time, comes in handy when you're parents are having a row with your brother downstairs!" I can hear Fred giving the pitch to the students.

"Or if the girl you fancy is in the common room talking with her friends, pop one of these bad boys out of your dorm and you can hear the entire conversation!" George says excitedly. The students they're talking to look at each other than nod.

"Alright yeah, how much?" One of them says.

"Five galleons each, but if you all get one then I'll cut it down to four. A group discount. Special just for you." Fred says. I watch him wink at one of the girls in the group and she bursts into giggles.

The group of students, must be about six of them all dig through their robes and pull out the money for the boys. Fred takes the money and George pulls out six brown packages from the big bag he's got over one shoulder. He hands them all out and smiles, "Pleasure doing business with you all, if you have a problem with anything let us know and we will fix it." George says.

The students say goodbye and all walk off, probably to their next class. "I'll have one of those Weasley."

Fred and George turn to look at me, "Oh yeah? What are you going to use these for?" George asks me.

"Do you really have to ask me that? Five galleons right?" I pull my coin purse out from my back pocket and pull it open.

George comes over to me with one of the extendable ears in his hand, "We aren't taking your money dude just take it."

I look at him for a moment, he nudges my arm with the brown packaging, "I'm serious Vi, you've given us enough money."

I put my coin purse away and take the package from him, "Thanks, baby. I'll repay you with something better than money later." I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss his neck.

Fred clears his throat, "You two know that I'm still here right? And that I don't want to be privy to your sex talk?"

I look over George's shoulder at Fred who looks very annoyed with the whole situation, "You're just jealous that you aren't getting any." I say to him.

Fred scoffs, "Who says I'm not getting any?"

George turns around to look at him and I take my hands off of his neck, "You're kidding, right? The only thing you're getting right now is a sock."

My eyes go wide and I cover my mouth with my hand so Fred can't see my smile, "If you weren't my business partner I swear to god G." Fred grumbles, "Come on we've got product to sell."

We watch Fred walk off and George turns to look at me again, "I think you pushed a little too far there G." I say to him.

George looks back at Fred now talking to a few other students and looks back at me, "He's still hung up on Emma."

"Yeah, I know."

George tilts his head and looks at me, "You do?"

I nod, "According to him we're best friends, I'm like his sister. And he asked me about how Emma was doing and shit because he's worried about her. He loves her, just doesn't want to admit it."

Fred waves George over, "I should probably head over."

I pull his head back to me and kiss him on the lips, "Go make some money. I'll see you later tonight."

George kisses me once more and then jogs over to his brother. I stand in the cold smiling, watching the two of them sell more of their things. I look over at the courtyard entrance and I can see Walter and Emma peering through the window staring at me. I dash through the middle of the courtyard with my hands over my head trying to shield myself from the rain. Walter pushes the door open for me and I go back inside the castle.

"Bought yourself an extendable ear did you?" Lee says looking at the package in my hand.

"Figured if they actually work, might be useful to have around my house you know?"

Lee laughs, "Trust me they work. They made me say things in a different room for about three hours to test them."

Em and I link our arms together and start to skip through the corridors, not really thinking about where we are going to end up. Lee and Walter walk behind us laughing.

"Violet!" Draco calls from the corridor ahead, "I took your advice. We're having a massive study session in three weeks." He smiles, the biggest smile I've seen on his face in a long time.

"And you've got your whole year to come?" I ask him. Emma and I stop in front of him.

The smile on Draco's face warms my heart, "Every single one of them." He glances at his watch, "I gotta get back to history, I told Binns that I was going to the bathroom."

Draco comes up to me and pecks my cheek, "Don't fall asleep in class dude! You need to focus this year!" I call after him.

Lee comes up beside me, "Draco Malfoy organizing a study party for his whole year? Did I really hear that right?"

I look over at him, "Yeah? What about it?" I say more defensively than I should have.

"No, it's just... Never thought he'd be the one to organize it all."

"He wants to make friends. You heard Dumbledore last year, the best thing to do is to be united."


	130. Part 5, Chapter 13

About a month has passed since I got the extendable ear from Fred and George, and really that was the last time I really saw both of them besides the classes we share together. I've been either in the common room or in the library studying or in the common room studying.

"How was your study session the other day?" I ask Draco when he comes into the common room after dinner.

Draco comes and sits beside me, "We played spin the bottle about halfway through and completely forgot about studying." He half whispers to me, a lopsided smile on his face.

I nudge him with my shoulder, "Alright, how did it go?" I say with a big smile on my face.

Draco turns pink, "I didn't end up kissing Potter if that's what you're asking. Kissed Seamus from Gryffindor though. Dean didn't seem too pleased about that one." Draco's face turns redder, "Pansy kissed Hermione though. Surprised you haven't heard her talking about it."

"Haven't heard a thing. Does that mean...?"

Draco shakes his head, "No doesn't mean anything's happened. Hermione was pretty flustered after it and she left early with Potter and Weasley. But I don't think Pansy noticed, she was smiling like a ninny for the rest of the night."

"Well that's... good I think?" I ask him.

Draco sighs, "Would have been better if Potter didn't leave given my turn was next and all but whatever." Draco looks at me, "Did you hear? Ronald Weasley got onto the Gryffindor quidditch team somehow."

"He did?" George never mentioned anything, but given that whenever we have a spare moment we do nearly everything but talk it's not very surprising.

"Yup. He's the new keeper. Here's hoping that he won't be very good."

I sigh, "Well Ron can be easily distracted so I'm sure that something will catch his eye and put him off his game."

Draco perks up, "Interesting..."

Fuck, "Draco no, do not do anything that would throw the game."

Draco gets up from the arm of the chair I'm sitting in and smiles wickedly, "Obviously not, what would give you an idea like that?" He dashes off into his dorm room and I lean back into my chair and groan. I give it a week before Draco comes into the room with some big elaborate plan to sabotage Gryffindor.

Usually on trips to Hogsmeade George and I spend the entire day together. This time though, he doesn't even wait for me at the common room to head out together.

"Are you and George alright? I never see you two together anymore." Emma asks me as we walk out to the courtyard.

"I dunno. We don't see each other anymore and when we do we definitely don't talk."

Emma bumps her hip into mine and wiggles her eyebrows, "Oh!"

I laugh a bit but it's a fake laugh and Emma can tell, "I miss talking to him though, joking around with him, sneaking out late and looking at the stars and what have you."

Emma nods, "Well this sucks. I just lost my ideal relationship goal."

I scoff and look at her, "Wow thanks Em, I really needed that. We aren't broken up you know."

Emma backtracks, "No course I know that every relationship goes through some rough patches, surprised it took you two this long to hit one. You'll work things out, I know you will."

Emma and I push through the courtyard doors. We can see Fred, George, Lee, Walter, and a few other students talking in the corner. Emma and I go up to them. I snake my arms around George's waits and kiss his shoulder. "Hey... I've missed you." I whisper into his ear.

George turns around, "Yeah, missed you too."

"Then let's spend the day together, just me and you. Get some butterbeer, sneak off to the shrieking shack or something..." I kiss his lips softly.

George smiles a bit, "I would yeah, but Fred, Lee and I have stuff we have to do. We're going to Zonko's before that though so you can come with us if you want?"

"I'm not invited to your secret thing?" I say sort of pouting.

George runs his thumb along my bottom lip, "I wish you could come but its got to do with... you know."

The Order, right. "Being on opposite sides is hard." I murmur.

George kisses my forehead, "You're doing it to protect yourself, protect Draco."

I lean into his touch and I can feel all my worries melt away, "I know..."

George holds me close to him, "I know I've been distant lately and I'm sorry. Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes has been taking off and I only really have time for that and school... well, that, school, and making sure Umbridge has the worst possible time here."

I smile, "It's alright love. I just miss you is all." I know that I've been overreacting and I know that I'm not the most important thing in his life right now but it is definitely hard not seeing him all the time.

"Alright! Everyone! The Hogwarts bell will right at six o'clock! It will be head throughout Hogsmeade, I need everyone to be back at the gate as soon as the bell rings, no exceptions!" McGonagall calls. "Everyone can head out. Third years wait with me and we will walk together."

George interlocks his fingers with mine and we walk with our friends out towards the fence that divides Hogsmeade and Hogwarts.

"Rumor has it that Ron's made the Gryffindor team?" I ask George, we are swinging our arms rather aggressively as we walk making a total fool of ourselves.

"Oh yeah! Lee's going to have a field day trying to commentate, three different Weasleys running around. He's got a bad enough time trying to figure out which one of us hit the bludger."

I laugh, "Well that's because you two are identical twins? It's hard to tell you apart. Do you know how many times I've second-guessed myself before kissing you?"

"What happened to knowing which one of us is which?" George says bumping me with his hip.

"I know which one of you I'm dating. And even if I messed it up once which I haven't, Fred would smack me."

George laughs, "Fair point."


	131. Part 5, Chapter 14

"Guys it's not that hard! Look at the parchment that you are all holding and read it!" Draco shouts at a group of Slytherin students that have gathered in front of him, "Okay, let's try this again!"

The group of students roll their eyes collectively. I stand in the entrance of the girl's dorms watching them all with my arms crossed over my chest.

Weasley cannot save a thing!

He cannot block a single ring!

That's why Slytherins all sing!

Weasley is our King!

I cover my mouth with my hands trying hard not to laugh. I look at Draco who is standing on the coffee table now waving his hands in the air directing everyone. A few older kids come out of their dorms to watch what's happening.

Weasley was born in a bin!

He always lets the quaffle in!

Weasley will make sure we win!

Weasley is our King!

Draco cheers, "Alright everyone last verse!"

Weasley is our King!

Weasley is our King!

He always lets the quaffle in!

Weasley is our King!

The students that weren't singing start clapping and cheering. I go over to Draco who is standing on the top of the coffee table looking right pleased with himself. "What's this all about?" I say smiling up at him.

"Our distraction! Here Violet wear one of these." He hops off the table and grabs a big fabric bag off the nearby couch. He shoves his hand inside it and pulls out a massive crown-shaped pin with the words Weasley is our King etched into it. "We're all going to wear them on game day. You'll wear one too right?"

"I dunno Dray seems like a conflict of interest." I take the pin from him and look at it smiling. Draco's got guts I'll give him that.

"You're a Slytherin. And on game days you have to act like one." He snatches a piece of parchment with the song he's written on it from a first-year and shoves it into my hands. "Support me on the field. Learn the song. It took me ages."

"Yeah yeah alright." I read over the song a few times, "This took you ages? It's the same four words over and over again."

Draco rolls his eyes, "Shut up."

Every night for the next week Draco gathered up the entire house and we sang his song a million times over. It got really fun after a while, joking around with the entire house. Emma and I tend to sing at the top of our lungs and dance around the common room. Walter and the rest of the seventh year boys do some weird warrior dance thing and chant Weasley is our King in really deep voices throughout the entire song. Draco's always annoyed when they do that but Cassius convinced him that it adds depth.

On the day of the first quidditch match, everyone in Slytherin was humming Weasley is our King all morning.

"Can't believe that your cousin organized all this," Emma says. She pins her Weasley is our King badge onto her coat.

"I find it hilarious, making all of us practice singing some stupid song he scribbled down during potions or something."

Emma and I meet Wally in the common room and we all head out to the quidditch pitch, skipping breakfast. All the Slytherins file into the stands right behind the Gryffindor goal posts.

"This is not going to end well," Walter says. This is the most excited I've been for quidditch since forever. The stands around us fill up slowly, the chattering gets louder and louder.

The stands erupt into cheers as the two teams walk out of their changing rooms and into the middle of the pitch. Walter pulls out his binoculars and laughs, "Each of the Slytherin players are wearing a badge too. God, I love your cousin."

Madam Hooch blows her whistle and the game is on. The crows cheer, but its nothing in comparison to the roars of the crowd from the Triwizard Tournament last year. It's strange being back in the stands. The fact that Cedric's body was lying on the ground here just a few months ago...

"And it's Johnson- Johnson with the quaffle, what a player that girl is, now if I was straight I would ask her out in a second." Lee's voice cuts through my thoughts. Walter does a sort of scream laugh which makes Emma and I roar with laughter as well.

"Course Walter and I are perfectly happy together so that would never happen!"

"Jordan!" McGonagall can be heard through the air giving Lee a stern talking to.

All the Slytherins start clapping in beat and we begin to sing.

Weasley cannot save a thing!

He cannot block a single ring!

That's why Slytherins all sing!

Weasley is our King!

Lee's commentary continues, "Dodges Warrington, avoids a bludger, close call Alicia- and the crowd is loving this! Just listen to what they're singing... what are they singing?"

The rest of the crowd goes quiet, which only makes us sing louder,

Weasley was born in a bin!

He always lets the quaffle in!

Weasley will make sure we'll win!

Weasley is our KING!

Lee starts commentating again, no one stops singing, we go through the final verse and start at the top again, "And Alicia passes back to Angelina! Come on now Angelina- looks like she's got just the keeper to beat! She shoots! She aaahhhhh..."

Miles blocks the quaffle from getting into the goal post and we all stop singing so we can cheer. Cassius now has the quaffle and is soaring towards the Gryffindor goal posts.

"Louder!" Someone roars from the middle of the crowd of Slytherins.

Weasley is our King!

Weasley is our King!

He ALWAYS lets the quaffle IN!

Weasley is our KING!

Lee tries desperately to talk over the sound that we are making which just makes us sing louder. "And it's Warrington with the quaffle, Warrington heading for the goal, he's out of bludger range with just the keeper ahead-"

Weasley cannot save a thing!

He cannot block a single ring!

I laugh and holler along with the rest of my house, the smile never leaves my face. Quidditch should always be like this.

"So it's the first test for the new Gryffindor Keeper Weasley. Brother of the beaters Fred and George, and a promising new talent on the team- Come on RON!" Lee shouts. Cassius shoots the quaffle towards Ron, and Ron misses the block completely.

Everyone around me goes crazy, Emma, Walter, and I included.

WEASLEY WAS BORN IN A BIN!

HE WILL ALWAYS LET THE QUAFFLE IN!

"And Gryffindor back in possession and its Katie Bell tanking up the pitch!" We can barely hear Lee over the sound we're all making at this point. I haven't felt this good in a very long time

WEASLEY WILL MAKE SURE WE'LL WIN!

WEASLEY IS OUR KING!

Walter bends down so he can say something in my ear, "George is going to kill you when he finds out you're singing along with the rest of us." He shouts so I can hear him.

I throw my head back and laugh, "Let him be bad! Angry sex is always fantastic!" I shout back at Walter.

Walter looks at me for a moment with a shocked look on his face then laughs really hard.

WEASLEY WAS BORN IN A BIN!

HE ALWAYS LETS THE QUAFFLE IN!

WEASLEY WILL MAKE SURE WE WIN!

WEASLEY IS OUR KING!

Cassius has the quaffle again, he passes it to Adrian. Fred smacks a bludger at him and he drops the quaffle, a collective round of oohs is heard throughout the stands. Katie has the quaffle now, drops it, Graham picks it up.

WEASLEY CANNOT SAVE A THING!

HE CANNOT BLOCK A SINGLE RING!

Adrian doges Alicia, and heads right for the Gryffindor goalposts. Pansy pushes through the stands and comes up to the front where Emma, Walter, and I are. She stands in front of us and pretends to conduct us in the singing.

THAT'S WHY SLYTHERINS ALL SING!

WEASLEY IS OUR KING!

The game continues, Slytherin is up forty-ten.

WEASLEY WAS BORN IN A BIN!

HE ALWAYS LETS THE QUAFFLE IN!

WEASLEY WILL MAKE SURE WE WIN!

Emma grabs a hold of Walter to get his attention, "Harry's spotted the snitch!"

I look away from Ron and up into the sky a bit more, Harry and Draco are racing towards the snitch. Harry gets there first. The game is over. Gryffindor wins.


	132. Part 5, Chapter 15

WHAM!

The game was over but Crabbe slams a bludger across the pitch and hits Harry in the back, thankfully he wasn't too far off the ground.

"Bloody hell," Emma yells. "Slytherin we're better than that!"

I watch Draco land in front of Harry, it looks like they're talking. I snatch Walter's binoculars out of his hands and bring them up to my eyes.

"The hell are you looking at? The game's over." Walter says confused.

"Draco and Harry, it doesn't look good."

I can't hear them but by the way, the Draco's smiling at Harry sure doesn't look very good. Harry gets redder and redder in the face. Fred jumps towards Draco.

"Better get down there Violet," Emma says.

I slap the binoculars into Walter's chest and shove Pansy out of my way. I race down the stairs and hop over the last few to save some time. I march across the pitch. Harry's holding George back now, the rest of the team has a hold of Fred.

Then, Harry lets go of George. Launches himself at Draco. I start to run, faster, faster, George starts punching Draco. I scream. I can't run any faster. I grab my wand out of my hair when I get close to the fight. I can hear Madam Hooch yell from a little ways away.

"Stupefy!" I scream, bright red light flashes out of my wand and hits George, sending him soaring through the air. I throw myself down on the ground beside Draco, His face is bloody and broken, he's groaning in pain.

"Violet!" I can hear Fred scream from behind me but I couldn't care less.

I stand up and point my wand right into Harry's chest, "Better fucking run Potter. I'll break your neck." I spit at him. Harry looks scared for his life.

"That is ENOUGH!" Madam Hooch steps between me and Harry. McGonagall, Snape, and Madam Pomfrey come running across the pitch. McGonagall goes over to where George landed and does the reverse charm to the stunning one that I've used on him. Madam Pomfrey helps Draco up onto a stretcher. McGonagall comes over to us, helping George walk over.

I look at him with anger bubbling inside me, he looks at me and for the first time in my life, I see fear in his eyes. Fear directed towards me.

"Never in my LIFE could I have thought..." McGonagall starts. "Weasley go up to the hospital wing with Draco, get checked out by Madam Pomfrey. Potter, you come with me."

She and Harry storm off. George is hobbling behind Madam Pomfrey who is levitating Draco off the field and towards the castle.

Snape doesn't say anything to me, instead, he turns and walks off the pitch. I follow close behind him. I can feel all eyes on me as I walk off.

"Impressive aim you have there Miss LeStrange..." Snape says to me. Something that I did not expect to hear.

"Uh, thank you, sir?" My heart is still beating a mile a minute and I'm having trouble breathing. I can't believe I just did that.

"I must punish you in some way however... twenty points from Slytherin..." Snape stops and looks at me.

"Yes sir, of course, sir," I say awkwardly.

Snape nods, "You may go to the hospital wing... I'll write to your Uncle..."

I nod and mutter a thank you before I sprint the rest of the way to the castle and up the stairs to the hospital wing.

I don't bother knocking I just barge right in. George is sitting on a bed near the front door. "Violet..." He says.

I ignore him completely and walk further down the room towards Draco and Madam Pomfrey.

"He's got a broken nose, a black eye, and a cracked rib." Madam Pomfrey says without turning around. "He's got to stay here for a few nights. I assume I'll be seeing you every day?"

"Yeah. If that's alright of course."

Madam Pomfrey nods and goes over to George. I sit on the edge of Draco's bed and hold his hand in mine, "What the fuck Draco? Why can't you learn that enough is enough?" I mutter. I brush his hair out of his face softly.

"Did you really just stun your own boyfriend?" Draco groans. He opens his eyes, well the one eye that isn't swollen shut.

"Nearly killed Potter. Would have too if Madam Hooch didn't step in between us." I say with a laugh.

Draco smiles then winces, "You're an idiot you know that? I could have defended myself."

I laugh, "Yeah right. They barely got three swings in and you look like you've been hit by the Hogwarts Express."

Draco ends up drifting off to sleep, but I don't move anywhere.

"Violet?" I can hear George whisper behind me.

I don't turn around, "Go away." I say harshly.

"Violet please..."

I spin my head around and look at him. He's got a busted lip which I can't deny looks sort of hot. "George. I'm not in the fucking mood right now." I snap.

"Like I'm in the mood, you fucking stunned me."


	133. Part 5 Chapter 16

I stand up from Draco's bed and grab George's arm. I drag him through the hospital wing and pull him out into the corridor.

"You fucking attacked my cousin!" I roar.

George goes red, "You should have heard what he was saying! He deserved every bit of it that fucking-"

"Don't you FUCKING dare finish that sentence or I swear to god George..."

George looks at me, "You'll what? Stun me? Send me soaring twenty feet in the air?"

"You deserved that. Who the hell do you think you are attacking a fifteen-year-old!"

George laughs, "Just like you singing and chanting about how awful my brother is at quidditch?"

"That's different!"

"Really? How so?"

My hand twitches, I want to pull my wand out again but I don't, "Is Ronald in the infirmary? Does he have a broken nose and cracked ribs and a fucking black eye? Or is he in your fucking common room right now talking shit?"

George roars with anger and pulls on his hair, "You fucking attacked me, Violet."

"And I'll do it again! How dare you fucking attack Draco!"

"He was saying shit! Do you not expect me to defend myself?"

My heart is pounding, my head hurts like I was just punched in the skull, "Of course he was saying shit! You just beat him in quidditch! And he's Draco! He runs his mouth faster than a fucking Hippogriff!" I look at George my entire body shaking I'm so angry, "What did he say? Tell me what he said to justify your fucking beating."

George shrinks down into himself, "Called my mum fat and ugly, called my dad a useless loser... said we stank..."

I laugh out loud and quickly cover my mouth with my hand, George is right pissed off now, "You're fucking kidding me right now? He said that you stink and you broke his nose!" I scream the last part, a few students further down the corridor run in the opposite direction. George opens his mouth to speak but I don't let him. "I thought last year was just a one-off. Draco ran his mouth about Cedric which is a genuine thing to get mad at and you fucking hexed him. That made sense! That he deserved! But a fucking beating because he said that you stink? Are you FUCKING kidding me."

George and I look at each other for a long time, both of us furious. It feels like we are staring at each other for hours.

"I love you," George says... well says isn't the right word for it, he more spits the words out of his mouth like they taste bad.

I roll my eyes, "I'm fucking mad at you." I say to him.

"Doesn't matter. Say it back."

"I fucking stunned you."

"Fucking say it back Violet."

I stare at him. He looks just as pissed off, if not more pissed off then before. "I love you."

In nearly one step George grabs me and presses me up against the cold, stone wall of the corridor, "You fucking stunned me." He practically growls into my ear.

"You fucking beat my cousin to a god damn pulp!" I snap back at him. Both of his hands are pressed against the wall on either side of my head. Our hot breath mixing in the middle of us, he smells like spearmint, cinnamon, and old spice deodorant.

My eyes flick from his eyes, down to his lips, and back up to his eyes. I lick my lips slightly and George watches me with a sort of hunger. I'm going to regret saying this tomorrow, "Draco was right..." I whisper softly, "... you do stink."

"Fuck you." He snaps.

"Is that a promise?"

George and I have been together for a very long time but he's never kissed me the way he's kissing me now. Normally I'm always in charge but not today. George presses into me with his entire body, literally flattening me against the wall. My hands are in his hair tugging at the ends of it, his hands are pushing me into the wall further. Making it impossible to move.

He starts kissing across my jawline and latches onto my neck, "Don't leave a mark." I practically moan.

George stops and looks at me, "You think this fucking gash on my lip won't leave a mark? Shut the fuck up." George goes back to sucking and biting on my neck, and honestly? It's the most turned on I've ever been.

Then he stops, stops everything. Actually takes a step back from me. We're both out of breath. He looks at me and smiles a little, "Let's go then." He says.

I wipe my bottom lip with my sweater sleeve, "Go where?"

George steps closer to me again and puts his mouth practically on my ear, "Well unless you want me to screw you in the middle of this corridor you're coming with me." His lips brush against my ear with every word sending shivers down my spine.

He doesn't give me a chance to say anything, he grabs my hand and pulls me down the hall towards the Gryffindor common room.


	134. Part 5, Chapter 17

It's a long while before I show back up in the Slytherin common room. As soon as I get in there's a round of applause from everyone.

"That was the strongest stunning charm I've ever seen!" Some third-year shouts.

Emma and Walter come up to me, looking a lot less smiley than the rest of the house. "Violet, what the fuck?" Walter says.

Emma lifts a bit of my hair from my next exposing about five different bruises, "I guess George wasn't too mad about it." Emma says with her eyes wide.

I take their hands and bring them back out of the common room into the dungeons so we are away from everyone else. "What the hell happened?" Walter asks.

I tell them about what happened on the pitch, the twenty points I lost Slytherin, the extent of Draco's injuries, me and George's fight... me and George's make up...

"Merlin's beard you two." Walter laughs.

Emma smiles, "As long as you two don't do it in the Slytherin common room then I'm fine. I don't think our friendship would survive me having to listen to your sex noises."

We all laugh, "It was intense, like seriously intense."

"Well yeah, I would think. Never saw you with one hickey let alone what? Eight?"

My face goes bright red, "Eight that you can see."

Emma and Walter hoot and holler which causes Snape to pop his head out of his office that's down the hall, "Miss LeStrange... I would have thought that losing twenty points today would have taught you something..." Snape says viciously.

Emma, Wally, and I run out of the dungeons sniggering and walk in a different direction. "You've got to teach me how you managed to get your spell to be so intense," Emma says.

"I dunno dude, it just happened. All my spells come out that way."

Walter clicks his tongue, "Powerful magic runs in the family, in the noble house of Black." He says the last part in a very posh accent which makes us all laugh.

Monday after lunch, Emma, Lee, and I walk to transfiguration class. "Did the boys tell you two?" Lee asks us.

"Tell us what?" Emma asks him.

Lee sighs, "They've been banned from playing quidditch... for life apparently."

"WHAT?" Emma and I shout at the same time.

Lee nods grimly, "Harry, Fred, and George. Umbridge banned them. Apparently she's got some new rule from the ministry or what have you that says she can punish people however she likes. Needless to say, they're fucking pissed."

"Well, now I feel like shit," I grumble.

Lee looks at me, "Why? What did Snape give you for throwing George around like a ragdoll? Weeks detention?"

"Took away twenty points," I say under my breath.

Lee stops walking, "You're lying."

I wince at his tone and turn around slowly, "No...? Trust me it confused me as well I was sure I was going to get detentions."

Lee opens and closes his mouth a few times, "No offence because I love you and you're a great friend to me, but fuck you! We lost three of our best quidditch players for life and you lost twenty points!"

Emma laughs awkwardly and I look between Lee and Emma, "I haven't told the boys yet."

"Fred's right pissed off at you right now, with what you did to George and everything." Lee says, "Now might not be the right time to tell him."

"George's over it, why isn't Fred?" Emma asks Lee. We walk into McGonagall's class and take our seats in the middle row.

"George is over it?" Lee asks me with his eyebrows raised.

I laugh, "He appears to be, guess you weren't in the common room when we were up in his dorm then."

Lee shivers, "I still have nightmares from the last time you two were in our dorm room."

McGonagall comes into the room from her office and looks at everyone filing into the room. "Hurry up now, we've got much to-"

"hem hem."

McGonagall rolls her eyes and we all turn around to see what she's looking at. Little, pink, and very ugly Professor, no sorry, High Inquisitor Umbridge is standing in the back of the class.

"May we help you, Dolores?" McGonagall says in a very annoyed sounding voice.

Umbridge walks through the desks slowly, her short kitten heels clicking on the stone floor, "Simply here to observe Minerva. Please, as you were." Her high pitch voices pisses me off more in this class than her Dark Arts class I have on Fridays.

"This year we will be focusing most of our time and energy on human transfiguration. This involves working with a partner for the majority of the year. Choose them wisely."

"hem hem."

The entire class stops moving. McGonagall turns hew whole body towards Umbridge, "Got something stuck in your throat have you?" McGonagall says. I snort trying to keep in my laughter.

"Well, I think that it would make much more sense if you paired the students together, that way they will be able to... bond and make friends." Umbridge stands from her little stool that she was sitting on, "You, state your name and house." She taps her wand on Amanda's desk.

"Amanda Ball, Ravenclaw." She says softly.

Umbridge then goes over to Cassius' desk. "You, state your name and house please?"

"Uhh, Cassius Warrington. Slytherin." He says awkwardly.

Umbridge claps her hands together, "Perfect! Miss Ball and Mister Warrington will be working together for the rest of the year."

Amanda looks like she's about to throw up. McGonagall steps forward, "The students will choose their own partners Dolores. I want them to feel comfortable in their classroom."

Umbridge puts on a face that makes it look like she's just smelt something awful, "Oh!" She says in a high pitched voice. She pulls her quill out and scribbles something on her clipboard, "I'm sure that Cornelius, sorry, the Minister will love to hear about this one."

McGonagall rolls her eyes again, her thin lips pressed together tightly. "We will need one group of three, however."

"And why is that?" Umbridge says with her nose high in the air.

Holly and Alex, the two Hufflepuffs in the class get uncomfortable, we all get uncomfortable in fact. "Because we lost a student last year and the class size is no longer even," McGonagall says sharply.

Umbridge doesn't clue in, "Lost a student? Was your teaching sub-par and they dropped the class?"

If McGonagall doesn't punch her I'm sure everyone in this room will take a swing. "The student we lost was Cedric Diggory." McGonagall sort of stalks towards Umbridge and towers over her which is not very hard at all, "I request you leave my classroom, you are disrupting my lesson."

Umbridge opens and closes her mouth a few times like a fish out of water and marches out of the classroom without another word. McGonagall looks very pleased with herself.

"As I was saying, one group of three, the rest of you partner off. It's going to be a long year."


	135. Part 5, Chapter 18

"Come home with me for Christmas," George says to me in the library, a week before winter holidays.

I roll my eyes and flip the page in my Dark Arts textbook. "Yeah? And how would that work?"

George closes his textbook and looks at me, I peer over the top of my book at him. "Tell your aunt and uncle that you have to stay here for the holidays, then come with us home. No one will have to know."

I snort and look back to my book, "Right and Draco wouldn't say anything at all. He'd see me on the platform and tell Aunt Narcissa and Uncle Lucius what's happening."

George reaches across the desk and pulls my book down, forcing me to look at him. "We could try?"

"I dunno how this Mark even works G, for all I know the Dark Lord can track where I am with it and he'll know and send people to come kill me and your family. I don't think that's something that you would want." I go to take my book from him but he snatches it away from me and puts it behind him on his chair.

"Well, I don't want you back there with them. It's not good for you."

I look at him and smile, "Thank you for caring about me, but I'd rather risk my life than put your family in danger."

"Oh so now we're risking lives are we?" George laughs but I don't.

"Snapes a Death Eater and he knows that I've got the Mark. Who's to say that he hasn't told the Dark Lord that I've been hanging around with you, Fred, and Lee hmm? Might be that as soon as Draco and I get home they kill us both."

"Hey... don't joke about stuff like that."

"Who said I was joking? Look, Georgie, I haven't heard from anyone all year. Not one letter from anyone outside of Hogwarts. I have no idea what I'm going home to. It might be great and the Dark Lord had a heart attack and died and it's all over the newspapers or he might have killed my aunt and uncle. I love you too much to risk seeing you over the holidays."

George shakes his head and smiles at the ground, "What if I apparate and come to you?"

Instantly my body starts to panic at the idea, "Don't you even fucking think about that George. The Dark Lord would kill you! The Dark Lord would make me kill you!"

George puts his hands up in defeat, "Alright okay I'm sorry. It was just an idea."

"A shit stupid idea."

George winks, "When have I had a smart idea?"

After dinner, George heads off to do joke shop stuff with Fred and I head back to my common room where Draco is waiting for me. "We're going on a walk." He grabs my arm and pulls me right back out of the common room.

"What's up?" I ask him.

Draco keeps walking until we reach a classroom. He knocks a few times and walks in when no one answers. He closes the door behind him and spins around, "Hogwarts spawns mistletoe during December." He says all in one breath.

I nod, its common knowledge that the castle is full of little tricks. Especially the mistletoe thing. When two people who fancy each other are talking alone in one of the corridors, Hogwarts tries to lend a helping hand and spawns mistletoe above their heads. Happens to George and I all the time. It only happens in December though.

"Yeah, happens to George and I all the time, my lips are always chapped during the winter because of it."

Draco shutters, "Ew. I didn't need to know that."

I roll my eyes and sit on the teacher's desk, "Well alright then, why do you care about the mistletoe?" Then it hit me, Hogwarts spawned mistletoe when he was talking to Potter.

"I was arguing with Potter, outside of potions class. We were the only ones there. Then mistletoe came out of nowhere. We both looked at it, looked at each other, got awkward, and ran away."

I don't even try to hide the smile on my face, "So Harry fancies you?"

Draco goes a deep shade of red, "He fancies that girl Cho Chang. He doesn't fancy me."

I suck my teeth and Draco looks at me, "I dunno who you've been talking too but Hogwarts doesn't spawn mistletoe unless both people fancy the other."

Draco throws a nearby chair to the ground and cries out in anger I think. "That's not supposed to happen! I'm supposed to be fine! Be over him! I can't fancy Potter!"

I watch as Draco pulls on his hair and paces from one side of the room to the other muttering, "his stupid green eyes... that fucking hair that he can't seem to brush... those blasted glasses that sit too far down his nose and I just want to push them back up for him so he can see properly....GOD, I sound like Pansy talking about Hermione!"

"Maybe you should kiss him next time it happens. We've got a week left till Christmas holidays, I'm sure you'll be alone with him in a corridor soon."

Draco looks at me, and I swear if looks could kill I'd be long dead. "You're an idiot."

I talk with Draco till curfew which was really just me saying things and him calling me a long list of names that he doesn't mean.

At about two in the morning, I'm shaken awake by a very tall, dark figure. "Miss LeStrange... Get up, you've been summoned to Dumbledore's office." Snape's cold voice says through the darkness.

"Whasshappenin?" Emma yawns from the bed beside mine. I grab my bed robe off one of the four posters and tie it tightly around my waist, I follow Snape out of the dorm, and into the common room.

Miriam is straddling Cassius on one of the couches snogging heavily. They don't even look up as Snape and I pass by them. Snape opens the common room door and casts Lumos so he can see in the dark corridor.

"Sir, what happened? Is Draco alright?" My mind darts from one awful scenario to another.

"Draco is fine... It's the Weasleys..." Snape says back to me.

My heart nearly falls out of my chest. I have to jog to keep up with Snape's long strides. Finally, we get to Dumbledore's office and Snape whispers the passcode and shoves me inside.

Dumbledore is yelling at some portraits, Harry is standing beside Professor McGonagall...

"Violet!" Fred and George both come over to me and wrap me in a big hug.

I hug them both back, still very confused about everything, "What happened? Snape just told me that I was summoned to Dumbledore's office?"

Ginny comes over once her brothers have let go of me and hugs me tight. Ginny and I don't really talk very much but I treat her like a younger sister whenever we interact. I hold her against me and kiss the top of her head, "Dads been hurt... I dunno..." she mumbles into my night robes.

I look up at Fred and George who are standing there looking just as confused as I feel. Ron is standing by Harry as pale as the bloody baron. I gesture for George to come over to me and he comes and wraps his arms around my torso a little higher up than Ginny's arms.

"I told Dumbledore that you shouldn't be woken up but he insisted that we needed friends right now. Managed to convince them not to wake up Lee though." He whispers into my ear.

"I yelled till someone came running." A portrait on the wall says to Dumbledore, all the Weasley children besides Ginny looks over, Ginny still has her face buried in my robes, I stroke her hair softly. "said I heard something moving downstairs, they weren't sure whether to believe me but went down to check- you know there are no portraits down there to watch from. Anyway, they carried him up a few minutes later. He doesn't look too good, he's covered in blood. I ran along to Elfrida Cragg's portrait to get a good view as they left..."

No one says anything. Ginny moves from me over to Fred who holds her tightly to him. George takes the opportunity to pull me into a big hug and stay there. We watch Dumbledore talk to a few other portraits in silence.

"Phineas! PHINEAS!" Dumbledore roars.

One portrait, the portrait of Phineas Black. He opens one of his eyes, "Did someone call?"

Dumbledore sends him off to the portrait he apparently has in Grimmauld place. Then he turns to the Weasleys, "I'm sending you back to Sirius' house..."

"How are we going? By Floo powered?" Fred asks cutting him off.

Dumbledore shakes his head, "The Floo network isn't safe anymore, you'll be arriving by portkey. Miss LeStrange, will you be accompanying them?"

Everyone in the room looks at me, "I well- my family wants me back home for the holiday's sir..."

"You could take the portkey back tomorrow, your family doesn't have to know," Dumbledore says I swear he winks at me as he says it.

I look at George, I want to go with them, support them, make sure everything is alright but I can't. George understands, "She's better off here Professor." George says. He grabs a hold of my face with both hands, "I've got my quill. I'll write to you with updates. I love you, stay safe." He kisses me hard then lets go of me and goes over to his family.

Fred watches me for a moment then smiles, "I'm not mad at you anymore by the way." He calls before they all grab a hold of the port key.

With a loud crack, the Weasley clan plus Harry all disappear. Leaving Dumbledore, McGonagall, and I standing in the middle of the office. Dumbledore looks at McGonagall, "Escort Miss LeStrange back to the dungeons please Minerva."

"Course Albus. Come with me, child."


	136. Part 5, Chapter 19

"What the fuck was that?" Emma whisper yells at me when I get back into the dorm room. Apparently in my time away Miriam made her way off of Cassius' lap and into her bed.

"I'm honestly not sure. Apparently Harry Potter had a vision or something of Arthur Weasley being attacked by something? Dumbledore thought that I ought to be there as emotional support for the Weasleys."

Emma's jaw falls open, "Is he alright? How did Harry even know?"

I shake my head, "A dream apparently? I dunno. Dumbledore sent the Weasleys back to... where we were that one day. He said that I could have gone too but I was scared that the Dark Lord would have found out."

Emma nods a few times, "How did Fred take it all?"

I take off my night robe and hang it back up on my bed, "Why do you care how Fred took it? I thought you two were over and done with."

"He wanted to get back together. That's what we were talking about on the train when you walked in on us. I still fancy him, like a lot. But it would just be too hard to start a relationship right now. I mean look at you and George, he attacked your cousin randomly, and you stunned him so bad I'm sure he's still a little dazed."

I crawl back into bed and under my covers, "He hugged me when I got into the room, then he just stood in a corner alone listening to Dumbledore yell at some portraits. Then he hugged Ginny real close and they left."

I can't see Emma in the darkness but I assume that she nods. I roll over in my bed and pull my blankets up to my nose.

I don't hear from George for the entire week which puts me on edge. It's not till I'm on the Hogwarts Express on my way home for the holidays that a message appears on my arm.

DADS FINE. SEEN HIM IN SAINT MUNGOS. WON'T TELL US WHAT HE WAS DOING BUT I THINK ITS GOT TO DUE WITH YOU-KNOW-WHO

I don't have my quill on me so I can't write back to him right now. Emma and I are sitting in the Slytherin car for the ride back home, giving Lee and Walter some alone time in the compartment we usually sit in.

"You think you're mothers going to be at yours when you get there?" Emma says to me softly.

"Not a clue. I assume that we would have heard something about an Azkaban break out when we were at school if it happened so I guess her and my father are still locked in there." Emma shifts her gaze from me and I roll my eyes, "Emma if you've got something to say just come out and say it."

Emma looks at me again, "You're going to hate me for saying this."

"Just say it."

"Maybe the Dark Lord is going to give you your parents for your Christmas present. Might have drawn your name for secret Santa." Emma's trying really hard not to laugh at her own joke.

I burst into laughter which causes a few other students to look over at us, "That was the stupidest thing I've ever heard oh my god." I don't stop laughing for a good long time after that.

The whole car was pretty quiet, which is unusual according to Draco. Miriam and Cassius haven't stopped kissing for what feels like the entire ride back to Kings Cross

When we finally arrive I hug Emma goodbye and walk off the train with my trunk. To no one's surprise, I'm met with a driver sent by my aunt and uncle instead of them to pick Draco and me up from the station.

Almost as soon as I get home the Mark on my arm feels like it's just caught fire. I yelp and drop Fergus' cat carrier onto the ground which doesn't go over well with my cat. I let Fergus out of his carrier and he wanders off towards the house.

"Violet look," Draco says, he points up into the sky, about a dozen tubes of black smoke are flying into the open windows in the house.

I look over at Draco. Ever since Harry and George beat him up he's got a nasty bump in his nose that Madam Pomfrey couldn't seem to mend. "Guess I better be off then." I kiss Draco on the cheek and hurry down the pathway and into the house.

"Violet thank goodness, come quickly now." Aunt Narcissa says nearly as soon as I get into the house. She ushers me into the dining room. The table is even longer than before, more people with dark cloaks on their shoulders are sitting around it looking at me. Aunt Narcissa guides me to a seat that's beside Uncle Lucius. She sits on my other side. Across the table, I make eye contact with Graham and nod slightly.

"We need a plan... We must get that prophecy before Dumbledore's bootlickers get to it. I need ideas children." The Dark Lord says once everyone is properly seated.

"We could send Nagini again my Lord. Surely the Order would not be stupid enough to have another one of their group down near the prophecies after last week's events." A short little man says from further down the table. It all clicks in my head now. Arthur was down in... somewhere, protecting a prophecy that the Dark Lord wants and was attacked by Nagini. That's when it occurs to me, it's a miracle that he's alive.

"Wasn't it your sister who suggested sending Nagini in the first place Clearwater?" The Dark Lord practically hisses.

"Yes my Lord but I believe that it may work this time if we just-"

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Green light flies across the table and hits the poor man right in the chest.

Everyone shifts their attention from the now slumped body and back to the Dark Lord, "Useless family, the Clearwaters..." He grumbles. "Anyone else care to suggest something?"

No one says a single word. Graham and I hold eye contact from across the table. Guess he's going to be able to see the Thestrals too.

"We send Lucius, along with a few others that work for the Ministry, they won't suspect anything if there are just ministry workers everywhere." Graham's father suggests.

I can feel Uncle Lucius stiffen in his seat as everyone's gaze landed on him, "Of course my Lord. If needed, I will step up." Uncle Lucius says stiffly.

The Dark Lord claps his hands together, "Wonderful Lucius. We shall wait for a second attempt once we have managed to execute the Azkaban break, which will not take place till mid-January. Dismissed."

Everyone from the table almost instantly turns into black smoke which flies out of the ceiling and windows.

"May I be excused?" I say to Aunt Narcissa. She nods and I get up out of my chair and walk upstairs to my room. I close the door behind me and place the soundproofing spell on the room.

Then I cry. Loud, angry sobs. I throw everything off my desk, throw my books off my shelves, throw my drawers out of the dresser. I break the porcelain dolls that line the wall above my vanity, slicing my arm in the process. I tear the curtains down from around my bed, rip the sheets and pillows off the mattress. I scream the entire time. Every time I blink I can see Mister Clearwater, slumped over in his chair, in my chair, in my dining room, as dead as the rat that Fergus caught in the Hogwarts library once.

I lean onto a wall and slide down it, I pull at my hair, screaming and crying.

Blink

Green light

Blink

AVADA KEDAVRA

Blink

Dead.

Dead.

Dead.

It takes me a long while to calm down again. I wipe my tears on the collar of my jumper and look around at the mess I've made. I don't even know the charm that would fix my room but I wave my hand around in the air anyways.

To my surprise, it works. My things float back into their rightful spots, the leg of my desk chair reattaches itself and plops right where it belongs, the faces of my dolls come back together and move perfectly into place on the right bodies. My clothes refold themselves and tuck nicely back into my dresser.

Once everything is back in its place I crawl into my bed, kicking off my jeans in the process, I don't really bother getting changed into actual pyjamas, I take my bra off and toss it somewhere in my room, I'll deal with that tomorrow. I snap my fingers and all the candles in my room go out leaving me in darkness, but I don't close my eyes.

Blink

Green light, Emma, Fred, Walter, and Lee all in a heap at my feet, bloody, broken, dead

Blink

A flash of green light, Draco screaming for help before falling limp at the bottom of the stairs

Blink

George, in my arms, gasping for air, the Dark Lord, watching him die with a twisted smile on his face, AVADA KEDAVRA!


	137. Part 5, Chapter 20

Christmas Day, by far the worst day of my life thus far. It started great, I mean as good as it can when you have the Dark Lord as a roommate.

"Violet come on! Presents!" Draco comes bursting into my room like he does every Christmas.

I groan and cover my face with my pillow. Draco throws himself on top of me, "Ow Draco god! You're getting too old for that." I take the pillow off of my head and hit him with it. Draco laughs and rolls off me.

"Never too old to throw yourself at your cousin to get her out of bed on Christmas. Let's go!"

I toss my blankets off of me and hop out of bed. I grab a cardigan off of my chair and use magic to make my bed much to Draco's annoyance. "All right then let's go downstairs."

Draco scrambles to the door and races down the stairs, I laugh and follow him with just as much enthusiasm. Draco physically bumps into Uncle Lucius who is standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"You two are getting far too old to be racing down the stairs." Uncle Lucius says sternly.

Draco looks down at his feet, I'm standing a few steps above them all, "Sorry Uncle Lucius. But it is Christmas after all."

Uncle Lucius' lips twitch into a slight smile, "Very well. Your presents are in the living room along with Narcissa."

Draco looks up at his father, then turns around and looks up at me. I smile at him and we race into the living room laughing and cheering.

When we get into the living room Aunt Narcissa is standing there smiling at us, "Happy Christmas you two."

Draco makes a beeline for the presents under the tree that we've set up a week ago and I go over and hug my aunt, "Once your presents are open we've got to sit in a meeting. The Dark Lord has a Christmas present for us all." She says quietly.

I look at her but she doesn't make eye contact with me.

"Woah! A Firebolt?" Draco shouts drawing my attention away from my aunt.

I go over to Draco and sit cross-legged on the floor and start opening the presents I've gotten. A bunch of new clothes, long sleeve shirts, new shoes, a wand polishing kit, owl treats, cat toys, a brand new radio, and another porcelain doll to add to my collection.

"Violet go get changed into something presentable, please. And take all your things up to your room please we've got guests arriving shortly." Uncle Lucius says looking down at us. Draco and I gather our things and Aunt Narcissa starts to throw the wrapping paper into the fire.

"Where are you off to?" Draco says coming into my room as I finish getting dressed.

I look at him and sigh, he's wearing his Slytherin quidditch robes and is holding his broom in his hand. "I've got a meeting with the Dark Lord. Apparently he's got a Christmas present for all of the Death Eaters."

Draco looks disappointed, "Do you think that you could come flying with me after? I want to test my new broom against the Nimbus two-thousand and one."

I walk over to him and shove his head a bit with my hand, "Course yeah. As long as I get to try out the Firebolt." Draco laughs and I head down the stairs and into the dining room that we've basically converted to the Dark Lord's lair.

"Happy Christmas young Violet..." The Dark Lord says as I step into the dining room.

I bow my head, "Happy Christmas my Lord. I hope that Santa Claus treated you well." I joke, instantly I'm scared that I'm going to be killed for my comment.

Instead, the Dark Lord laughs, a high pitched "hehehehe" which throws me off guard a little. "Come sit... the rest will be here shortly."

I sit where I normally sit at these meetings and the Dark Lord floats to the head of the table and sits down.

Suddenly, pillars of dark smoke come soaring through the windows and things and people appear in chairs. Soft mumbles of 'my Lord' fills the stale air. It's not long till the table is full of Death Eaters.

"Welcome... and a Happy Christmas to you all." The Dark Lord says in his raspy, high pitched voice.

"Happy Christmas my Lord." Everyone mumbles back to him.

The Dark Lord looks out at all of us. We've grown in numbers rather quickly since I was forced to get the Mark. The table has nearly doubled in size. I quickly look around the room and make eye contact with Emma and the rest of the Slytherin students I'm at Hogwarts with.

"This Christmas... I want to celebrate my return with all of you." The Dark Lord says, "Pettigrew, if you will."

A rat-like man that is sitting to the Dark Lord's right practically jumps right out of his seat and dashes off into the library that's off of the dining room. There's thuds, a woman's scream. I look down the table at Emma, her eyes are as wide as dinner plates.

Pettigrew comes shuffling back into the dining hall, tugging on a rope. He pulls hard and four beaten and bloody people fly into the dining hall, their hands tied to the rope that Pettigrew is yanking on.

"This year... for my big return... I sent Pettigrew into the streets of London to find us all some playthings.... He found muggles, worthless, waste of space, muggles living on the streets." The Dark Lord announces.

My heart starts to heat faster, my hands get sweaty. I watch in silent horror as Pettigrew yanks on the rope harder and drags the muggles to the table. The room is full of different energies. The younger Death Eaters, my friends, are terrified, they look like they're going to be sick. Some of the adults sit there stone-faced, barley blinking. And then there are the ones who are actually excited, big smiles on their faces, giggling to one another with glee.

"While it's only four... I thought it would be a fantastic time to let the youngest of our group to practice the Cruciatus curse." The Dark Lord gestures to us, not knowing what to do, I stand along with the rest of my housemates.

We all walk to the middle of the room and line up behind one another. Adrian in the front, Clarissa behind him, me behind her, so on and so forth.

"Go on..." The Dark Lord says to Adrian, "Choose whomever you wish and perform the Cruciatus curse."

My vision goes blurry, I can hear my heartbeat in my ears. I can't take my eyes away from Adrian.

"CRUCIO!"

Screams, loud, god awful screams. And suddenly I'm back at the riot. Flames surround me, the muggle family screaming, the woman trying to cover herself with her dress. George running away from it all, protecting his family.

Clarissa is next. She steps forward, I step forward as well. My breath quickens, I nearly drop my wand.

"CRUCIO!"

Screams, the muggle falls to the ground and twitches, the Death Eaters at the table laugh and cheer. Flames, laughing, screams. Ireland just won the world cup. Happiness mixed with fear, tears flood my eyes.

I step forward, I make eye contact with the muggle man in front of me. His eye is swollen shut, his cheek has a deep, nasty, cut on it. His hair is matted with blood, his clothes stained. I take a deep breath, try to calm my nerves but it doesn't work. I'm panicked, stressed. Just do this and it will be done with, do it. DO IT!

"CRUCIO!" I scream, louder than I've ever screamed before, my wand pointed and aimed perfectly at the man's chest. He falls to the floor and starts to shake, screaming, begging for mercy. People cheer, people applaud. A sick part of me feels good almost. Like I've given someone else my pain. I catch myself smiling at the man still withering on the ground. I raise my wand again involuntarily it feels like. "CRUCIO!" I scream again, with more confidence. The man jumps off the floor and lands on his back, its worse than before. The screams. Oh god, the screams. It doesn't feel good anymore. I stumble backwards, away from the man.

I make eye contact with the Dark Lord, his eyes are bright, his teeth barred in a twisted smile. He's proud of me. I feel like I'm going to be sick. I stumble back to my chair as Cassius shouts, "CRUCIO!"

I sit in my chair. Aunt Narcissa puts her hand on top of mine and I pull it away from her quickly.

"CRUCIO!"

My head spins, my heart feels like it's going to explode. Flames everywhere, people screaming, muggles soaring through the air.

"CRUCIO!"

It's me this time, pointing my wand at the muggles in the sky, I move them around like puppets, there's a smile on my face.

"CRUCIO!"

Its George, soaring through the air. He screams, pained, something like I've never heard before. It's me, I'm the one controlling him, sending him through the air. Everyone claps, there's a smile on my face.

I zone out. I can't hear anything anymore. My head is spinning so fast it feels like I'm going to be sick and pass out all at the same time.

Then, it stops. I look up, everyone is back in their seats. The muggles are in a heap on the floor. The Dark Lord smiles again, "And now, the adults can play." He says. Chairs scrape against the floor, footsteps, loads of footsteps. Cheers, cries of joy, flashes of light, screams, awful screams. I get up from the table and stumble out of the dining room into the kitchen.

"Master LeStrange! Is you alright? Norby is worried!" The house-elf says coming over to me.

"I have to... I have to leave. I can't breathe." I clutch at my chest. Screams from the dining room make me flinch.

I can hear the Dark Lord laughing through it all, "hehehehehehehehe"

"Norby won't say anything if Master LeStrange leaves. Norby wants Master LeStrange safe." Norby comes over and puts her small hand on my arm.

I smile at her, "Thank you." I whisper. Then I apparate, the only thought in my head is George. His arms, his smell, his smile.

"What the FUCK!?" I hear him scream.

My heads pounding, I can barely open my eyes. It doesn't smell like my house. There's no screaming. Well, not the screaming that was at my house.

"Violet! Violet are you alright?" I can hear Molly but I can't see her.

I open my eyes just a little, I see them all. Molly, Bill, George, Fred, Ron, Ginny, Harry, all of them. Sirius, Professor Lupin, Tonks.

I close my eyes again and the sound fades away. But my heart stops beating so fast. I'm safe now.


	138. Part 5, Chapter 21

"I thought you said that she couldn't come visit." I hear someone say.

"She said she couldn't."

"Then why is she here?"

I hear a thump and an 'ouch!' "Does it really look like she's here because she wants to be?"

I groan a little and the talking stops. I open my eyes just a sliver and I can see Fred and George leaning over me.

"Do you mind?" I grumble.

The twins smile, George laughs a bit. "Are you alright?" The two of them help me sit up in the bed that I'm in.

"What happened?" Fred asks as he hands me a cup of water.

I take a sip and wince, "The Dark Lord... he made me, made us... torture muggles as a Christmas present. And I was good, powerful..."

George hushes me, "It's alright, you're here now."

"Made quite an entrance honestly. We were all eating our Christmas breakfast and you fell from the ceiling and landed on the dining room table." Fred says chuckling.

I groan and blink slowly, "Sure Molly loved that one."

The twins laugh, "She nearly jumped out of her skin. Then went right to work with getting you into a bed so you could rest. You cracked your left wrist when you landed but Tonks and Ginny managed to wrap it up for you." George explains.

Fred gets up from the bed, "I'll go tell everyone that you're awake. I'm sure mum would like to know."

George and I watch him leave the room. George turns back to face me. I look into his sad, scared eyes. I explain the entire thing to him, leaving out names and things and where the muggles came from. I told him how it made me feel. The power that I felt I had. Then the panic attack, the scared. I told him how Norby covered for me. How she helped me escape.

Then it hit me. Draco. I've left Draco there, flying his stupid fucking broom out in the yard. "They're going to kill me..." I whisper.

George takes my hands in his, I wince when he touches my cracked wrist and he immediately let's go, "I'll make sure they don't." He whispers.

I use my good hand to cup his face with, "You can't promise me that... I have to get back. Make sure they don't think that Draco had anything to do with it all. How long have I been here?"

The door slams open, Molly, Sirius, and Professor Lupin come running over to me. "Violet! Oh my goodness dear are you alright?" Molly puts both her hands on my face checking to see if I'm injured.

"I'm alright Molly. Thank you. I should really get going." I say. I sit up in the bed but she pushes me right back into it.

"You've only been here for half an hour, you're fine." She says sternly. "If you're feeling up to it you can come down and have something to eat."

I nod, "Yeah, alright. I'll come down."

"Violet. Let's talk." Sirius says. He's standing beside Professor Lupin looking down at me in the bed.

"I'll uh, I'll see you downstairs," George says. He kisses the knuckles on my hurt hand gently and he and Molly walk out of the room.

I sit up in bed more and swing my legs around the edge of it. Sirius sits on my left and Professor Lupin sits on my right.

"Have either of you ever had to use an unforgivable curse?" I say in a whisper.

Neither of them say anything. "I have. The imperius curse, to get my brother to stop doing something." Sirius says.

I look at him, "He made us practice the Cruciatus curse. And I think I liked it..."

We sit in silence for a good long time. I can tell that Professor Lupin wants to ask more but he doesn't. Sirius gets up, "Come on. Foods getting cold."

Sirius puts his hand out and I take it and he pulls me up from the bed. We walk down the stairs together, past a screaming portrait.

"is that? BELLATRIX! They've gotten you too? You're no better than the rest of them, filthy, dirty, blood traitor!" The portraits screams.

"My mother, Walburga Black. But I'm sure you could piece that one together." Sirius grumbles into my ear.

We continue down the stairs and out into the dining room. Sirius lets go of my hand and I sit beside George. Instantly his arm is around my shoulders and he's kissing my temple loads. I look across the table and make eye contact with Tonks. She doesn't smile but she doesn't frown either. Progress I guess.

"Violet darling here you go. Feel free to eat as much as you wish there's plenty to go round." Molly says handing me a dinner plate. George takes it from her for me and puts it down in front of me. He fills my plate with food for me, Molly watches with a small smile on her face.

Chatter starts up around the table again but I can tell that people are on edge and not talking about what they really want to talk about. Tonks is changing her face into a bunch of different animals which makes Ginny howl with laughter.

"Violet. Before you go... We haven't opened presents yet." Molly says. She gets up from the table and goes over to a rather sad looking Christmas tree that I didn't notice before. She pulls a punch of poorly wrapped packages out from under the tree and starts to pass them round. She puts mine in front of me and kisses the top of my head.

Everyone rips open their presents, they've each got something that Molly's knitted for them. Ron pulls on a maroon jumper with a gold speck in it and smiles. Harrys got a matching one except his is made out of dark orange yarn. Ginny's got a bright green hat which Tonks pulls down over her eyes. Fred's got a blue scarf which means that George has probably got one as well.

I watch George open his present and to my surprise, he's got a purple jumper with a big, black 'G' in the middle of it. "Go on Violet, open yours," Molly says cheerily.

I smile at her and pull the wrapping apart. Now I know why George didn't get the same thing as Fred this year. I've got a matching purple jumper to George only mine has a big 'V' in the middle of it. George and I look at each other, he pecks me on the lips and pulls hid jumper over his head.

"I love it! Thank you, Molly!" I tug it over my head and smile.

George pulls me close to him, "These are the ugliest sweaters she's ever made." He whispers into my ear which makes me laugh.

"Look at the two of you! Ronald where's the camera? I have to get a picture of these two!" Molly looks around the room frantically and finds the camera sitting on the far cabinet. She pushes through everyone and stands right in front of us, "Alright you two give us a kiss!"

George turns to me and smiles "Well if she insists." He puts his hand on the back of my neck and brings me close to him. He kisses my lips and I kiss him right back.

I spend maybe another hour or so with the Weasleys and friends singing Christmas carols and drinking butterbeer. George kisses me about every thirty seconds which Ron, Ginny, and Fred aren't really fans of but I love it. This is how Christmas is supposed to be, this is what I want my Christmas's to look like in the future. Weasleys and all. Only it's my kids that are opening the itchy sweaters that Molly's made for them. And them running around with all their cousins without a care in the world.

George and I walk up the stairs and away from it all, a horrible, out of tune rendition of Jingle Bells slowly fades off as George closes the bedroom door behind him. He looks at me and smiles, "You've got to go back don't you?"

I nod, "Yeah..."

George comes over to me and puts his hands on my hips, I instinctively wrap my arms around his neck. "I want this... with you... our kids running around with all their cousins in awful jumpers that their grandma made them. Drinking butterbeer with the family, setting up presents from Santa Claus." I say to him quietly.

A great big smile forms on George's face, "Our kids... will be the luckiest kids in the entire fucking world." George whispers. We move in to kiss each other at the same time but end up butting our foreheads together pretty hard.

We look at each other with wide eyes and start laughing, "I gotta go, baby. I'll see you in a week."

"I just want you to stay here... in my arms, till all this has passed." George mumbles. He kisses my jawline and I sigh.

"I know G. But..."

George sighs, "Better head out then. I love you."

I kiss him hard, tongue and all then I pull away and step back from him. "I love you more," I say.

George watches me as I get ready to apparate. I close my eyes, shake out my arms, and picture my room at the Malfoy Manor. In one spin I'm there. I open my eyes and Norby is standing on my vanity.

"No one notices yous was gone Master LeStrange. Norby put a soundproof charm on the room so no one can hear your return." She says happily.

"Thanks, Norby... are they still all down there?"

Norby nods carefully, "The snake man sent all of Master LeStrange's friends away. But Masters Malfoys are still there. Norby had to bring one of the muggles outsides she did. Only three are still alives."

"You better get out of here Norby. In case someone notices you gone." I say to her. "Thank you for keeping me safe."

Norby smiles, "Norby will do anything to keep Master LeStrange safe she will. Master LeStrange is nice to Norby and Norby loves Master LeStrange very much." Norby takes the spell off of the room and shuffles out. I watch her hop down the stairs. But before I could close the door Draco runs from his room down the hall into mine.

I close the door as soon as he gets in and Draco wraps his arms around me. I'm stunned for a moment, then I hug him back. He's grown a lot over the past few months, he's about the same height as I am now. I stroke his hair softly and just stand there till he lets go."

"I can't listen to the screams anymore Violet I just can't." He says into my jumper.

"Shh. It's alright Dray. Stay in here with me, I feel like they're going to be down there all day." I let go of Draco and he walks off and curls up on my bed under the covers. I put the soundproofing charm back on the room and turn on the new radio I got this morning.

I go over to the bed and bury myself in the blankets beside Draco. "We'll stay here all night if we have to. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."


	139. Part 5, Chapter 22

Draco and I are driven to Kings Cross by another driver on the last day of Christmas holidays. Once we get there I don't really bother trying to help the driver unload my stuff. I just stand there, clutching Fergus to my chest. I have the driver walk my trolly down the muggle platform and onto platform 9 ¾.

Once we are on the platform I take put Fergus down and take my trolly from the driver and hand him a few sickles for his service.

"I'm going to sit with the Weasleys..." I say to Draco.

Draco smiles a bit, "Yeah I know you are. It's alright I've got to go make sure that Pansy didn't do anything stupid over the break." Draco pecks me on the cheek and pushes his trolly down the platform.

"Need help with your stuff?" I look up and Fred and George are hanging out of the door of the train car.

"If you don't mind. My wrist is still sore." I say. Fred and George hop down. Fred grabs a hold of my trunk and lugs it onto the train.

George comes over to me and hugs me, "I've missed you."

"Missed you too love."

I call Fergus and pick him up and bring him into the train car. George and I move past a few younger students and slip into the compartment.

"Haven't seen you since Christmas Violet. How are you?" Emma asks.

Fred looks at her with wide eyes, "You were there?" He whispers.

Emma gulps and nods a few times, "Uh yeah. I was... till the adults started... anyways. How are you dealing with it all?" She looks up at me.

"Nightmares every night. Draco and I were sharing a room every night after it." I look at the boys, "he wasn't down there but the walls aren't exactly soundproof you know?"

There's laughter coming from the hall and we all look out the glass door of the compartment. Walter and Lee are standing there laughing to themselves in between kisses.

Fred pounds his fist on the glass door, "OI! Get your asses in here!" He shouts.

Walter and Lee kiss a few more times before coming into the compartment, "Sorry, we just missed each other. George and Violet get it right?" Lee says smiling at Walter.

George pecks my lips and smiles softly, "Yeah we get it."

We decide to play eye spy on the ride back to school which doesn't really end well.

"Are you daft? Walter's shoelaces are green, not blue!" Emma roars.

Fred rolls his eyes, "They're blue! Look at them! What are you? Colour-blind or something?"

Emma scoffs, "I'm not colour blind! You're just an idiot!"

"Guys it's not that serious, it's just a game," I say laughing at the two of them.

"It's not just a game!" They both shout at the same time.

Walter, Lee, George, and I all share a look. Emma groans and pulls Fred out of the compartment. "Those two are going to kill me one day I swear to god," Walter says. We can hear them yelling at each other on the other side of the door. George pulls the curtain down over the door to give them some privacy.

"Those two are going to end up killing each other one day," George says.

I pull out the book Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen that Draco got me for Christmas and start reading it. George lies down on the bench. Props his feet up on the wall and puts his head in my lap.

"You're cute from this angle," George says casually, looking up at my face.

I look down at him and smile, "Can't say the same about you there love. You've got boogers in your nose."

Lee and Walter start laughing, George pulls a Kleenex from his pocket and blows his nose really hard, "What about now?" George stretches his neck and he opens mouth which in turn opens his nostrils.

"I'm not checking your nose for boogers G." I laugh.

George sits up really fast which knocks my book out of my hands, "George! You made me lose my spot!" I half shout. Lee picks my book up off the ground and hands it to me laughing.

"Look in my nose! Tell me if I have boogers!" George squishes me between the wall and him and shoves his nose in my face.

"You're disgusting!" I laugh shoving him back to his side of the bench.

Walter and Lee are howling with laughter and George comes back over to me. "I love you." He mumbles.

"Yeah, yeah I love you too."

George lies back down into my lap and Emma and Fred come back into the compartment. I can tell by Emma's puffy eyes that she's been crying and from Fred's red eyes I can tell that he's been crying too.

"Shove over," Fred says to George.

George raises his legs in the air so that Fred can sit down and George puts his legs over top of Fred's lap.

The rest of the ride to Hogwarts is pretty silent. Except for Lee and Walter who have taken it upon themselves to point out every single time they see a cow out of the window.

The first night back at Hogwarts was boring, full of unpacking things and small talk with Miriam and Clarissa. None of us really wanting to talk about what we all saw over the holidays.


	140. Part 5, Chapter 23

Tuesday morning at breakfast, my owl Otis flies into the great hall and lands in front of me. He's got a copy of the Daily Prophet in his beak and a letter from my aunt attached to his leg. I take the things from him and give him a slice of toast before he's off.

I read the Daily Prophet first. In big black letters on the front page says it all

MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN

MINISTRY FEARS BLACK IS 'RALLYING

POINT' FOR OLD DEATH EATERS

Underneath it, is my mother. Her long black hair curly and wild around her face. Her eyes hooded and fixed in front of her. She's laughing, holding her prisoner number in front of her.

I notice the rooms gone quiet, I look up from the paper and notice that nearly everyone is looking at me, a few of them have got the paper in their hands. I grab my bag, the letter, and my copy of the Daily Prophet and run out of the hall. "Violet wait!" I can hear George call after me.

I run through the castle and out of the back doors into the snowy January morning. I don't stop running till I get to the edge of the Forbidden forest. I throw my bag to the ground and scream, loud and long. My mother. My father. Out of Azkaban.

I can hear snow crunching, coming closer to me, I look over. George is standing a few feet away from me. "Don't stop just because I'm here. Let it out." He says.

"I don't even know what I'm doing. I... I dunno." I look at George defeated. The Daily Prophet still clutched in my hand.

"You're mums stunning. Like terrifyingly beautiful." George says coming over to me. I hit him with paper and he pretends to be hurt.

"Is that really what you want to say to me right now?" I say with my eyes wide.

George shrugs his shoulders, "Now I know where you get it from. You look just like her. So beautiful it's scary."

I go to hit him with the paper again but he grabs a hold of it before it hits his arm. "Did you read the article?"

"Do I need to? It's just full of lies, I know what actually happened." I grumble.

George sucks his teeth. "Course you do. I'm sorry." He looks down at my other hand, the letter that my aunt sent me is grasped firmly in my fist. "What's that?"

I look down at the letter, "My aunt sent it along with the paper. I guess I should read it."

"I'll go if you want some space or something," George says.

I look at him, "Are you mad? I want you right here beside me." I say to him.

He smiles and comes beside me. I flip the letter round and look at the front. It doesn't look like my aunt's handwriting. This is loopier, messier. "I think it's from my mother..." I whisper.

George puts his hand on my shoulder, "You don't have to read it if you don't want..."

I rip the envelope open which makes George stop talking. I take a deep breath and pull out the parchment. It's long. Her handwriting looks a lot like my own.

Violet,

Cissy has told me so much about your time with her. About the strong, powerful young witch that you have become in my time away. I've seen the portraits of you and young Draco all over the Manor. At first, I thought it was me. I can't believe that it has been fifteen years since I've seen you last.

Cissy tells me that you've been sorted into Slytherin, I wonder if you are staying in my old dorm room. I burned my initials into one of the bed frames when I was a student at Hogwarts, look for it.

She also told me that you're top of your class, nearly every year. I was never good at school so I'm shocked that you are. Your room is beautiful here. Cissy is letting me stay in it, I guess I'll have to move out of it when you get back home. You're graduating from Hogwarts this year. For some reason that's crazy to me.

The Dark Lord speaks highly of you, of the power that you've demonstrated recently. Using the stunning charm at school with perfect accuracy and strength, using the Cruciatus curse over Christmas, not once, but twice! I am so proud of you. And for stepping up and doing what is right, joining the right side of the fight. They raised you the way I wanted you raised. A powerful pure-blood witch.

I'll be home when you're on Easter holidays, you should come home so I can see you, we can all sit down and talk. You, me, and your father. He's here too, staying in a spare room. We've got much to catch up on. Please write to me. I want to meet you.

Your mother.

I read it out loud so that George doesn't have to read it. Once I finish I fold it back up and put it in the pocket of my robes.

"So are you... are you going to go home? For Easter?" George asks me.

I pick up my bag and brush the snow off of it, "I think I have too, don't I?"

'You don't have to do anything of the sort if you don't want to." George says to me.

I nod a few times, "Yeah I know that." I snap. George looks a bit offended and I mumble an apology before I continue talking, "I haven't actually met my parents. Yeah I know I spent two years with them but they were busy with a war! I can't even remember what my father looks like and the only reason I know what my mother looks like is because her face is plastered all over my aunt and uncle's house."

George doesn't say anything, he lets me rant. "And I just. She's out now, they're both out! I should be happy, interested, relieved! That they are out and free... well as free as you can be with the entire ministry after you. But I'm not, I feel no things! I feel weird with everyone staring at me now, and I'm going to fee weird in all my classes because people are going to think I know something! I mean I do know where she is hiding out and everything. I can't believe my Aunt has her in my room! The Manor is massive, there's like twenty fully furnished empty bedrooms!" I don't even think I'm making sense anymore but George just stands there and nods along with me not bothering to say anything.

I stop about ten minutes later, red in the face. "Feel better?" George asks me.

"Not in the slightest." I kiss him on the cheek, "Come on then, we're going to be late for Charms." I reach my hand out to his and he intertwines his fingers with mine. He brings my hand up to his mouth and kisses my knuckles.

As we walk through the corridors I can feel every single person staring at me. "The hell are you looking at?" George snaps at a few third years. They run off in the opposite direction.

"George please... don't draw more attention to me," I say.

George looks at me, "Just because your mother and father are awful people doesn't mean that you get to be treated like shit!"

I pull my hand out of George's grip and wrap my arms around myself, "Don't, don't talk about my parents to me George. Don't tell me what I do and do not deserve. I don't want to hear it right now." I pick up my pace and walk up the stairs and up to the third floor and into the Charms corridor.

"Violet! Is it true that your ugly mother got out of Azkaban? I hope she's able to shower before you see her again." Some sixth year Gryffindor calls at me in the corridor.

In an instant, my wand is in my hand and I've got the student pressed up against the wall, my wand pressed right under the kid's jawbone. "You want to say that shit again? Not so fucking smart now are you?" I sneer, "Go on, say it again."

George comes up behind me and pulls me off of the kid. "Violet don't." He says sternly. I step back from the student and start to walk away from him.

"Like mother like daughter eh George! Got yourself a rabid dog!" The student calls.

That does it. I spin around and punch the kid square in the nose as hard as I possibly can. The boy's head bounces off the wall behind him and he falls to the ground, his nose spewing blood all over the floor.

"Miss LeStrange!" Umbridge's high pitched voice rings through the halls, "Detention! For the whole week! You too Mister Weasley, I thought that banning you from quidditch would have done enough and now you're watching as someone beats up another student!"

I shake out my hand, my knuckles busted wide open, "See you in your office after dinner then I suppose Professor?" I spit before turning around and walking away from the Charms classroom.

"Violet, we've got class," George calls after me.

I don't bother to turn around when I respond, "I'm sick."


	141. Part 5, Chapter 24

"Did you really punch a kid in the face?" Emma asks me as she comes into the dorm room after lunch. I didn't bother going to lunch when the bell rang, Emma noticed and apparently stole a few sandwiches and wrapped them in parchment because she tosses me a bunch of them.

"I'm not in the mood to discuss it right now Emma." I sit up in my bed and unwrap the sandwich from the parchment.

"Well, George told me that you're not really talking to him so what? Do you want me to go get Walter? Or Lee? Or Fred? Violet, you have to talk to someone." Emma says. She sits on the trunk that's at the end of my bed.

"I dunno what to talk about." I say quietly, "Like. I don't even know if I feel anything. I'm just numb to it all." I take a bit of the sandwich and chew on it slowly.

"People who are numb to it all don't punch people in the corridors," Emma grumbles under her breath.

"People punch people if they call you a stray dog." I snap.

Emma looks up at me, "You're joking."

"Like I could make something like that up."

Emma crawls up on my bed and sits in front of me, "Then he deserved a solid punch in the face."

I laugh and lean forward, our foreheads touching, "I'm sorry, I'm just trying to figure out my emotions." I say to her.

"I don't think that I'm the person you should apologize to Vi, but I'll take it."

I sigh and get up off my bed, I put my slippers on and shuffle to the door.

"Gryffindors password is Mimbulus Mimbletonia by the way," Emma calls. I turn around and look at her. Emma smiles, "George told me after class. We both figured you would come to your senses eventually."

"I hate you both." I laugh before heading out of the dungeons. I love George but the walk all the way up to the seventh floor is a mission, especially with the stairs acting worse than usual recently.

When I get up to the Fat Lady's portrait. She looks me up and down, "You're not a Gryffindor." She says snarkily.

"Yeah? How do I know the password then?" I say back in the same tone that she was using with me.

The Fat Lady raises her eyebrows, "Let's hear it then."

"Mimbulus Mimbletonia," I say with a small smirk on my face.

The Fat Lady looks at me suspiciously, "You're still not a Gryffindor."

"You can't prove that."

The Fat Lady mutters something under her breath but she swings her portrait off the wall and exposes the hole that leads to the Gryffindor common room.

I walk in slowly, Harry, Ron, and Hermione seem to be the only ones that notice that I'm inside. "George is up in his dorm Vi." Fred says coming up beside me, "Dunno what you did to him but you better go up and fix him, we've got to test our nosebleed nougat."

I head up the stairs into the boy's dorms and knock on George's door. He opens it almost as soon as I knocked, he smiles. "Figured it was you, the entire common room suddenly got very quiet."

He moves out of the doorway so I can step inside it. "Sorry I went off on you earlier," I say.

George looks at me, "It's alright."

"It's not alright. When I get confused and I don't know how to feel or if I feel at all then I lash out at people."

George smiles a bit. "I know. That's why I'm not stressed about it. I know that you didn't mean it the way it came off."

I go over to him and snake my arms around his torso, "You're not mad at me?"

George wraps his arms around my neck and holds me against him, "Mad at you that you didn't let me get a punch in yeah." I laugh but George doesn't laugh with me, "I've never been more serious in my life Violet. Next person that talks like that to you I'll kill them."

"Don't say that."

"I mean it."

"You're a good person George, you won't kill someone. Not for me, not for anyone. And I never want you to say that to me ever again." George opens his mouth to speak but I clap my hand over his mouth, "End of discussion."

George nods a couple of times and I take my hand away, "Fred wants you downstairs, something about your nosebleed nougat. Walk me out?"

"What if I want you up here?" George says. He looks at me as if he can see through my clothes.

I smile, butterflies start-up in my stomach, "George... go downstairs, help your brother."

George kisses me and mumbles 'fuck Fred' against my lips but he walks me out of the dorm and down into the common room anyways.

"Why's she in here? Her mother a Death Eater and I wouldn't be surprised if she's one too." Some kid shouts.

"How about I kick your ass?" Angelina shouts, "Mind your business Creevey."

I mouth the words 'thank you' to Angelina and she nods and smiles at me.

"If anyone's got a problem with Violet then you've got a problem with us and I don't think you want a problem with us," Fred says loud enough for the whole room to hear. He moves so he's standing beside me and George.

"Yeah me too." Ginny stands from her friends and comes over to where her brother and I are standing, "Few of you already know what it feels like to be at the other end of hexes."

"Guys really I better just go. They're right, I'm not supposed to be in your common room." I whisper.

George looks like he's ready to fight someone till I put my hand on his arm. "Yeah, let's go." He gestures to the door and I head out of it. He looks around the room once more before he follows me outside as well.

"We should probably just keep our relationship outside of your common room," I say as we walk down the stairs.

"It feels like we're going backwards. Remember when we had to hide that we were seeing each other when we first started?" George says.

"It's not like that..." George looks at me, "Alright maybe it is like that."

"I don't want to hide the fact that I love you," George says. We turn down the next flight of stairs, we step over the third stair from the bottom so we don't end up getting stuck in the trick stair.

"This is harder than we thought huh?" I say to him.

George huffs, "I guess it is... But we're, we're alright... right?"

"Course we are. I'm not letting something as stupid as your housemates being scared of my mother break us up." Pause. "This isn't you breaking up with me right?"

George looks at me and I can tell that he's genuinely offended, "Course not. There's not a chance in hell that I'll be breaking up with you anytime soon."

"Say you love me," I say to him once we've hit the bottom of the stairs.

George looks at me, "You know I love you."

"Doesn't matter. Say you love me."

George smiles a bit, "I love you, you fucking dumbass."

"Thanks. Love you too"


	142. Part 5, Chapter 25

After dinner, that day George, Lee, and I head to Umbridge's office to serve our detentions.

"What did you do to get yourself roped up in this?" I ask Lee.

George and Lee start laughing, "Well you know Umbridge's new 'Educational Decree' about how teachers can't say anything that's not related to their subject?" Lee says with a big smile.

"Yeah, its lead to a lot more teachers whispering about me in the corridors," I say glumly.

George puts his hand on my shoulder in a comforting way as Lee continues to tell his story, "Well I pointed out that with her new decree, she can't tell Fred and George off for playing Exploding Snap in the back of her class unless she adds it to the curriculum."

"When did you even say this? You're not even in NEWT Dark Arts." I ask him.

George and Lee start laughing again, "She overheard me in the corridor after class one day. You know the time when you ran into the library without even saying a hello? You missed a fantastic joke."

"Well next time I see you waiting in the corridor after class I promise to say hello," I say to Lee with a smile on my face.

"That's all I'm asking."

When we get to Umbridge's office George wraps his knuckles on the door. We can hear her go 'hem hem' from inside and George takes that as an invitation to come inside.

"Miss LeStrange, Mister Weasley, Mister Jordan. Please take a seat." Umbridge says from her desk. She's got three small desks set up in a row in front of her.

We all look at each other and take a seat, "What will we be doing?" George says looking around the awfully decorated room. Plates with cats on them are lining the very pink walls. She's got a teapot shaped like a cat on her desk along with a few pink cups.

"You three will be writing lines for me this evening." She stands up from her desk and circles around to us. She puts a slip of parchment on each of our desks along with a quill that's got an extravagant pink feather on it. "Mister Jordan, I want you two to write 'I must not talk back' whereas Miss LeStrange and Mister Weasley I want you to write 'Violence is not an answer' hem hem."

"And our ink is..." George says looking at the woman.

Umbridge smiles, her teeth are almost creepily straight and even which puts me off, "You won't be needing any ink. I'll tell you when you need to stop."

She circles back around her desk and sits down, we all look at each other, none of us picking up the quill. 'hem hem' Umbridge makes that damn noise again and we all start writing.

Violence is not an answer

Violence is not an answer

Violence is...

My left hand, the one I'm not writing with lights up with pain as if someone is carving into me like they do a turkey on Christmas. I don't make a noise though, I wince and contort my face but I don't make a single noise. Can't say the same for George though. He yelps in pain as soon as it starts on his hand. Lee yelps a few seconds after. We all look up at Umbridge and she smiles at us, sipping tea out of her fucking pink cup.

"Continue." She says with her eyes wide and her lips puckered like she's tasted something sour.

I hesitate before I pick my quill back up, small trickles of blood are coming from my hand and pooling on the desk.

Violence is not an answer

Violence is not an answer

With each line I write the cuts on my hand get deeper and deeper, hurting more and more as I go. But I don't give her the satisfaction of my pain. I don't make a single noise. Lee and George are both breathing rather heavily.

"That's enough for today. Mister Jordan, I hope this has taught you your lesson. Miss LeStrange, Mister Weasley, I will see you tomorrow evening." Umbridge says, her voice is suddenly far more annoying than it was a few minutes ago.

George, Lee, and I all get up from our seats, our hands dripping blood on her pink carpet. We don't say anything till we leave the room and the door closes behind us.

"What the bloody hell was that!" Lee roars. He's cradling his hand to his chest carefully getting blood all over his shirt.

"Are you alright Violet?" George asks, he takes my injured hand and inspects the wound. "Hers is really deep," He says to Lee, "We should get you to the hospital wing."

"I'm alright G. Nothing a ripped up tee shirt can't fix," I say smiling at him.

I can tell that George is hesitant but he doesn't say anything around Lee. We walk out of the corridor and into the staircase. "I'm going to walk Vi back to her common room. I'll see you later Lee." George says to Lee.

Lee nods and heads out towards the Gryffindor common room. George looks at me, "Alright let's go to the hospital wing."

"George I'm fine. I don't have to go." I say to him

George rolls his eyes, "A few more lines and you'd be carving words into your bones, Violet." He says in a very annoyed tone.

"And I'll wrap it up and put some... something that will heal wounds on it myself," I say back to him.

"Some something? Right yeah, you're totally equipped to take care of that yourself."

We start down the stairs bickering, both of us holding our injured hands to our chests. "It'll be fine G, Emma's always got some plant growing in our dorm I'm sure that she knows what will help."

"Or you could just not risk it and not destroy a shirt of your-"

"I can't wear half the shirts I own now anyways, they're all short sleeve. Thank you for worrying about me and I love you very much but I'm serious, I'll be fine."

"Don't come crawling to me when your hand falls off cause it's gotten infected." George sings. I turn to look at him when we hit the bottom of the stairs and he pecks my lips softly, "Though you would look pretty hot with one hand."

"Me with a hook hand? You're into some shit G."

"Don't knock it till you try it, baby."


	143. Part 5, Chapter 26

On the morning of Valentine's day, Emma wakes me up extra early so we can get ready for the Hogsmeade trip. "You've got to look the best you've ever looked today Violet," Emma says. She sorts through my stuff, not letting me pick out my own outfit.

"Why is today so special? George and I have been together for ages. I've fully snotted all over him during a crying session before... many times." I say laughing at her seriousness.

Emma sighs and looks up at me from the floor, "Would you just trust me on this? Christ." She goes back to sorting through my things, "Here." She tosses a tight, floor-length, long sleeve, wool turtle neck dress at me. "And... here." She throws heeled boots at me one at a time. "Get dressed. Then I'll do your hair and makeup."

"Seriously Em, makeup?" I say as I change out of my pyjamas and into the dress she's chosen for me.

"Wait! Here, wear this bra instead." She tosses me a black lace bra and I catch it in the air, "You've got panties to match?"

I gasp and Miriam and Clarissa look over smiling, "What the hell do you think is going to happen today?" I say looking at her with a shocked sort of smile on my face.

"Ah, here they are." She throws my black lace panties at me, "Now get dressed."

I scoff and stutter but I do as she asks me to do. Once I've got the dress on Emma smiles, "Your ass looks like a granny smith apple in that dress."

"God Em, what's with you this morning?" I say laughing.

Emma pushes me down onto my bed so I'm sitting down. "I can't dress my friend up? Aren't best friends supposed to be like your own life-sized doll or something?" She winks after she says it though which tells me that she's got bigger plans.

She pulls out her makeup brushes and things and she gets to work on my face. Covering my eyes with black and silver pigment that she says 'will really bring out your green eyes' and she glides a black lipstick over my lips because 'black looks really hot when you've got your mouth aro...' to which I slap her arm and she giggles to herself.

She then brushes out my hair and starts to braid my hair into two Dutch braids on either side of my head.

"Ow! Jesus Emma." I yelp as she tugs tightly on my scalp.

Emma laughs, "They've got to be perfect! Now head forward and stop moving!" She finishes one braid which goes down past my boobs and starts on the other side of my head.

"Alright, you're perfect let's get to breakfast. Just don't eat too much." She says clearly satisfied with whatever she's done to my face and hair.

"Emma you're not even dressed yet. And why can't I eat a bunch, I'm fucking starving."

Emma goes over to her trunk and changes into something warm. She looks over at me and puts her hand on her chin, "Wear that beret I gave you. And that super long black coat that you've got."

I do as she says and put the beret on my head and grab my long, black coat off of the back of the communal desk chair in our dorm.

Once Emma is satisfied with how she looks we walk out of the dorm and into the common room. 

"Violet? Violet LeStrange, wearing makeup?" Draco says when he sees me.

I stick my tongue out and give him the wanker sign. He laughs and heads out with his friends.

Walter comes out of his dorm and walks through the boy's corridor and into the common room. "Why are you hot today?" He asks me.

"Thanks, Wally, that does loads for my self-esteem," I say laughing.

Walter smiles, "Not what I mean, it's just. You look better than usual today."

"Nice save Clarence," Emma says rolling her eyes.

We walk out of the common room together and into the great hall. I can see Fred, Lee, and George whispering close together at the Gryffindor table, none of them really eating anything. I shrug it off and start buttering a slice of toast.

"Don't eat too much!" Emma warns me again.

I look at her dead in the eyes and take a big bite of my toast, smacking my lips as I do it.

"God that's disgusting, who makes noises while they eat." Walter groans looking at me.

Emma and I both look at him, "You're one to talk!"

After breakfast, we follow the big group of students out into the courtyard. I pull my coat on as we are walking and wrap my house scarf around my neck.

"Here wait hold on," Emma says. She pulls me to the side of the door and looks at me for a moment. Then she pulls my braids out of my coat and places them perfectly so they lie down the front of my shoulders. "Now go."

Walter looks at her very confused, Emma sighs and pulls him down to her level. She whispers into his ear and Walter's face lights up. "Hoooly... shit!" he says happily.

"So he gets to know and I don't?" I say looking at Emma.

"Go out there and find your boyfriend Violet," Emma says. She spins me around so I'm facing the door and she slaps my ass.

Laughing I walk out of the door and into the courtyard. Almost immediately I spot George. He's standing alone, Fred and Lee are a little ways away from him but they aren't talking to him.

"Hey, Georgie," I call. He's got on clothes that are a little posher than what he usually wears, clearly trying to make some sort of effort.

"God, you look beautiful." He says all in one breath. He bows a bit and kisses my hand making me laugh.

"What's gotten into you?" I say with a smile on my face. He instantly gets a little uncomfortable and awkward. I peck his cheek which leaves a black lip stain. I lick my thumb and wipe it off.

"I can't try to woo the love of my life on Valentine's day?" He says with that Weasley smirk on his face that I love so much.

We start walking to Hogsmeade, just the two of us. Fred, Emma, Walter, and Lee are walking ahead of us quite a ways but I've noticed that they've been taking turns looking back at us.

"So mister 'I'm going to woo my girlfriend' where are you taking me?" I say looking at George. My eyes linger on his face. The curve of his forehead that blends perfectly into his eyebrows. His nose, perfectly shaped with a little bump in the bridge of it. His cupids bow, his big lips...

"Well, I've recently come to the realization that you and I have been together for a long time."

"Oh really? You've just come to that realization?"

George looks at me, "Would you let me finish my sentence? Seriously woman."

"Alright fine! What where you going to say?"

"Well, now I've forgotten." George huffs. I laugh and he goes a bright shade of pink. "I've noticed...." He continues finally, "That we've never been out on a formal date. It's always been sneaking around after curfew and walks back from the quidditch pitch."

"Those were dates?" I ask poking fun at him.

George goes an even deeper shade of red. "I well- I've never been able to afford..."

"Georgie I'm kidding! I love our dates." I lean my head on his shoulder and I can feel the tension leave his body.

"I've planned the whole day, just you and me. So just trust me for once? Please?"

I nod a bunch with a big smile on my face, "Promise."


	144. Part 5, Chapter 27

When George said he planned the whole day he wasn't kidding. We've been to nearly every shop in Hogsmeade. He's bought me one thing from each much to my annoyance. Right now we are sitting in Madam Puddifoots tea room.

"This place is really pink," I say looking around the dining room that we are in.

George laughs, "Yeah Percy never mentioned how... frilly it is in here. Sorry."

I reach across the table and take George's hand in mine, "Don't be sorry. I kind of like it. In a weird... really frilly sort of way."

George and I both burst out laughing, causing the other couples around to glare at us. The waiter comes back with a teapot and a few finger sandwiches and heads off.

I look around the room again and I spot a few familiar faces. Roger Davies is by the window holding hands with some blonde. Harry is sitting a few seats away from us with Cedric Diggory's ex-girlfriend... That's bound to be awkward. Harry looks over at me and I smile a bit at him. His face sort of spasms which I think means he's smiling back at me. I look back at George who is fussing with his tie a bit. Nearly every time I look at George I get butterflies. He's perfect in every way of the word.

"Did you tell Emma that you planned an entire day for us G?" I ask pointing my sugar spoon at him.

George smiles down at his teacup, "Why? Did she say anything?"

"Kept telling me not to eat too much at breakfast, and made sure that I looked 'the best I've ever looked before' whatever that means."

I start to put sugar and milk in my tea, I don't look at him but I can tell George is watching me. I bring my cup up to my lips, holding it with both hands. I look at George as I take a sip, "Whatcha staring at me for Weasley? Have I got something on my face?"

George gets all flustered which makes my heart flutter, "You're the most perfect person I've ever known in my entire life Violet."

I snort into my cup which sends tea all over the table and George. We start laughing really loud again. I put the cup down and help him clean it all up with one of the cloth napkins. "God Violet I thought you were supposed to be perfectly mannered or something. Isn't that what all the Blacks aspire to be?"

I flick a bit of sugar off my spoon and at George, "Not all of us. You've met Tonks and Sirius." I say quietly.

"You know, I brought you here for a reason and now you're flicking sugar at me." George laughs.

I pick my teacup up again and blow on it softly, "Mind telling me what that reason is?"

George takes a deep breath, "I want you to know how much you mean to me."

"Course I know how much I mean to you G, you don't need to do all this to show me that."

George looks at me with a sort of annoyed joy on his face, "Would you stop that? I'm trying to be romantic."

I giggle and George rolls his eyes, "Sorry, I'm sorry. Honest." I look at him and try my best to hold a straight face, "Continue."

George sighs, "God you're impossible."

"Are you going to say what it is that you want to say to me or not?"

"Would you stop that!"

We start laughing again and everyone else around glares over at us again. Harry shoots us a look, his date is trying to get his attention again. "Go ahead," I say to Gorge smiling.

"Anyways... Kenneth was telling me something a while back..."

"How is good old Kenny I haven't seen him-" George cuts me off by swatting at me with his napkin. I start laughing again and George tries his best not to smile at me.

"He was telling me about a bunch of old muggle moving picture things called movies he watched over summer holidays. Specifically about this thing that a lot of couples used to do to show that they are serious about each other." George says.

"You mean proposing? Georgie, I hate to break it to you but wizarding folk do that too."

"I'm going to smack you if you keep doing that," George says smiling.

We look at each other for a long while smiling at each other, "Well then, say what you have to say."

"Its sort of like proposing but it's not that serious... well it is serious, just a different kind of serious. They're called promise rings."

I drink the rest of my tea in one swig and put my cup onto the saucer. "Promise rings eh?"

George nods, "Yeah it's like an engagement ring but you're not actually proposing. It's like a before proposing. Promising that one day you and the person you're giving it to will get married."

"So you're promising yourself to someone but with less stress and things. Leave it to a muggle to come up with something like that."

I watch as George goes pink again, "I thought it was sort of cute." He says quietly.

"It is, really cute. But I dunno why you're telling me all this."

George puts his hand in his pocket and digs around for a minute. Then he pulls out a small brown leather box and places it on the top of the table. "Here." He says. He taps his index finger on the top of it a couple of times.

"George..." I say smiling like a total ninny.

George is smiling just as big, "Open it would you? It took me months to sort out."

I smile and pick up the box carefully. I look at him as I open it. Then I look in the box. There's two rings inside, a silver one and a gold one.

"The gold one's mine, silvers yours. If you want them of course." George says. I look at him, this time I don't interrupt him. "I want to marry you one day and I'm pretty sure you want to marry me too. Course we are only seventeen and just turned legal so it won't happen anytime soon but I want to be able to look at you and think 'yes. She's mine and I'm hers and we have made a commitment to one another."

"You're a cheesy bastard George Weasley," I say smiling.

George laughs at me, "Times are tough, this year sucks. I want to know that somewhere, I have someone who has promised to love me no matter what."

I take the silver ring out of the box and look at it more closely, inside if it has George's name engraved in it. "What finger does it go on?"

George laughs and takes the other ring out of the box. "You put them on your ring finger on your right hand. Then when we get married, I'll get you a much better ring that you wear on your left hand." George puts his ring on his right hand and waves it in the air to show me.

I laugh and put mine on as well. Instantly there is a slow, rhythmic thumping almost that I can feel is coming from the ring, "Are all promise rings supposed to vibrate like this?" I ask looking at George.

"Oh right! I forgot to tell you. I worked with the jewelry maker to get them to be connected to each other. That pulsing that you feel is my heartbeat. My ring pulses in time with yours. So you are reminded that we are always connected wherever we are. So as long as we are both wearing our rings, we can feel each other's heartbeat. It's also going to give me some peace of mind because whenever we aren't at Hogwarts recently I'm terrified that you've been killed by you-know-who." He whispers the last part so only I can hear him.

"As I said. You're a cheesy bastard." I reach across the table and take his hand in mine, "And I love you so fucking much for it."

George's got that Weasley smile on his face again, "Fred's been teasing me about it all year. I told Emma about it yesterday and she nearly cried."

I stand up from my chair a little and lean across the table and kiss George's lips. George moves and knocks the entire pot of tea all over everything.

Suddenly, a shrill voice cuts through me and George's moment, "Oh! You'll talk to Hermione Granger!" George and I pull apart and look over at Harry and his date. His date is now in tears and Harry looks like he'd rather be anywhere but here.

"Should we go help them?" I whisper to George.

George doesn't look away from Harry and his date, it's like watching a bad quidditch match, you can't look away. Harry looks over at George and me, his face is red with embarrassment.

"Go on! Leave!" Harry's date is now crying into a napkin. The entire room is quiet all staring at the train wreck that is Harry's date. "I don't know why you asked me out in the first place if you're going to make arrangements to meet other girls right after me... how many are you meeting after Hermione?"

I'm getting third-hand embarrassment from Harry and I think George is getting it too. He turns to look at me with wide eyes and a small smile on his face. I slap him on the shoulder, 'Don't laugh at other people's argument!" I whisper but I'm smiling too.

Suddenly Harry's date stands from the table and runs out of the tea shop, Harry chases after her "Cho! Cho wait!" He calls.

George and I look at each other and burst into laughter, "God that poor kid." George says laughing. I cover my mouth with my hands to try and hide my laughing but its no use.

The waiter comes over to us and see's the mess that is our table covered in tea. "I'm going to have to ask you both to leave."

George tosses a few coins on the table and we both mutter an apology to the waiter before grabbing our coats and rushing out of the tea shop laughing.

Fred, Lee, Emma, and Walter are standing underneath an awning trying to cover themselves from the downpour of rain that started when George and I were in the shop. "So? Are you two betrothed to be betrothed?" Emma says smiling really big.

George and I look at each other, "Yeah, looks like we are."

All of our friends cheer and clap drawing so much attention to us all. Emma grabs my hand to see the ring and I start telling her exactly what we've been doing all day.

I can hear Fred talking to George, "You've gone and gotten yourself a good one G."

"Yeah..." George looks over at me and I glance at him while Emma is talking about how beautiful the ring is, "Yeah, I know."


	145. Part 5, Chapter 28

"So how many of those things have you sold? Your skiving snack boxes?" I ask George as we are sitting in the library one morning in March. I've been working on my Potions composition whereas George has been pouring over order forms and things.

"Neary a hundred I think. And that on top of the extendable ear sales, the canary creams, Weasley Wildfire Whizbangs, Dungbomb sales, we've managed to get enough to buy that shop we were looking at."

'George! That's amazing baby!" I get up from my seat across the table from him and go over to sit beside him. I cross my legs in the chair and face him. I pull him in for a celebratory kiss, "Play your cards right and I'll give you more than a kiss." I hum in his ear.

"Well, now we're stuck. Whether or not we continue here at Hogwarts or just jump right into the shop." George says he turns back to his order forms and sighs, "Would you hate me if I leave Hogwarts early to do all this?"

"I could never hate you G. Do what you gotta do. I'm proud of you." I kiss his jawline and move my way down to his neck, biting on it a little.

George lets out a breathy laugh, "Fred and I have been talking about it for a while now, neither of us are too keen on school as you know..."

I hum a little but I don't stop kissing and sucking on his neck, the pulsing from the ring he's given me starts to go faster which gives me butterflies.

"And well... we were thinking... tha-at we could... god I can't think properly with you on me like that." He groans.

I stop sucking on his neck and I run my tongue over the mark that I've just made. "Then maybe you should stop thinking," I whisper in his ear. "Let me do it." I stand up and go back over to my stuff and pack all my things into my bag. George is watching my every move with intense focus. "You coming...?" I say to him with a wink. I walk away from the desk and I can hear George scrambling around getting his things together.

He jogs up beside me, "You can't do that to me, Violet." George says in my ear.

I stop in front of a classroom that I know is empty, "Really? Cause I think I just did." I lean back on the door and pull George into me for a kiss. I open the door and we both stumble into the room. George drops his book bag and looks at me with the most lust I've seen in his eyes ever I think. I lock the door and look over at him.

"Congratulations on the shop Mister Weasley," I say as I walk slowly over to him. The room is dark but not fully black. I can see George's face go red.

George doesn't say anything he just watches me stalk over to him. I put my hand on his chest and force him to walk backwards till he bumps into the teacher's desk. George gulps and looks at me with wide eyes. I don't say anything I just run my hands down his chest slowly. I bend my knees lower till I'm kneeling in front of him. I look up at George through my eyelashes, he's watching me with innocent curiosity almost. "You ready to celebrate?" I whisper.

I walk into the common room after saying goodbye to George. Draco is sitting with Crabbe and Goyle working on something. "Haven't seen you in a while, Dray. You good?"

Crabbe, Goyle, and Draco all look up at me, "I know you said that your OWL year was impossible but I thought that you were just trying to scare me."

I peer over at what he's working on, potions. "Potions is the worst one. Good luck dude."

Draco groans, "Course it is. Could you help me tomorrow? I can't memorize anything and I've got a practical at the end of the week."

"On Friday? Draco its Wednesday." I say very unimpressed.

"Yeah and? Oh, could you also help these two geniuses? And Pansy, and Blaise, and..."

"And every other fifth-year Slytherin?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

Draco smiles a bit, "Pretty please?"

I roll my eyes, "I'll help you but I can help your entire year. I've got to finish all my shit so I can actually get out of this place."

"Thank you!" Draco calls after me.

Emma and Walter are sitting in the back of the room. I go over to them swaying my hips dramatically as I walk, "Looks like someone put her studying session with George to good use." Emma says smiling.

"The boys bought a shop on Diagon Alley. So George and I celebrated." I say smiling at the memory of about twenty minutes ago.

"Did they actually? I can't believe that they actually pulled it off." Walter says.

I nod and Emma shifts over so I can sit on the same couch as them. "George and Fred are thinking about leaving Hogwarts early to get the shop ready to open by summer," I say. Emma's smile drops from her face. "Course they want to give Umbridge hell before they go which means selling everything that they've made to make sure that even when they're gone she's still hearing their names through the corridors."

"That sounds very Fred and George," Walter says. Emma stays quiet, I don't even think that she's listening to what we are saying anymore.

"Dunno how Molly's going to feel about it when they actually go though. It might be the last straw for her."

"How are you gonna feel with them gone?" Walter asks me.

I shrug, "I mean George and I will write to each other all the time, we've still got those quills. And now we've got our promise rings. I'm not too worried about it I don't think."

Walter laughs, "Yeah keep telling yourself that." Walter stops for a moment, "Where the fuck did Emma go off to?"

I turn around and Emma's not behind me anymore. All her stuff is where she left it though. "Gryffindor common room probably," I say laughing.

"You serious?" Walter looks at me.

I nod, "Yeah. Bet you that this is what she needed to get over herself, finally realize that she's in love with Fred or whatever.


	146. Part 5, Chapter 29

"Violet! Emma come quick! Its Professor Trelawney!" Draco comes bursting into our dorm room.

"Aren't you supposed to be at dinner? What are you doing here?" I say closing my Transfiguration book.

"Who cares! Let's go!"

Emma and I look at each other before crawling off our beds and chasing after Draco. He stops at the entrance hall that is full of students, all watching something at the front doors of the castle. We push through the crows to the two very tall redheads and a blond standing at the front of the crowd.

"No!" Someone shrieks, "NO! This can't be happening... it cannot... I refuse to accept this!" I elbow a fourth year out of my way and stand beside Fred and George. There, at the front door is Professor Trelawney and Professor Umbridge.

"What's happening?" Emma whispers. Lee and Walter both shush her.

"You didn't realize this was coming?" Professor Umbridge's high pitched, god awful voice shrills, "Incapable though you are of predicting even tomorrow's weather, you must surely have realized that your pitiful performance during my inspections, and lack of improvement, would make it inevitable that you would be sacked?"

"The bitch." George and Fred both mutter.

Professor Trelawney has got tears streaming down her face, her big circle glasses keep slipping down her nose, "You c-can't!" She howls, choking over her own words, "you c-can't sack me! I've b-been here for- for sixteen years! Hogwarts is my-my ho-ome!"

I can feel tears prick up in my eyes, I grab a hold of George's hand, but he pulls me into him and holds me close to his chest, our eyes never leaving the scene in front of us. He kisses my forehead and mumbles, 'you're alright.'

"It was your home," Umbridge says all matter of factly. She's got a smile on her face which makes me want to vomit and punch her all at the same time. I only took Divination for a year and hated every second of it but Professor Trelawney doesn't deserve this. No one deserves this. "Until an hour ago, when the minister of magic countersigned your order of dismissal. Now kindly remove yourself from this hall. You are embarrassing us." Umbridge continues.

Professor Trelawney sits down on her trunk rocking back and forth, her head in her hands sobbing loudly. Umbridge is just standing there, laughing at her. A few students around us start to cry at the sight of it all. The crowd shifts as someone comes pushing through it. McGonagall comes bursting out of the wall of students that has formed. She marches right up to Professor Trelawney and gives her a handkerchief.

"There, there, Sybill... calm down... blow your nose on this... it's not as bad as you think, now... you are not going to have to leave Hogwarts..." McGonagall coos.

"Oh really, Professor McGonagall?" Umbridge says coldly. Umbridge steps towards McGonagall almost threateningly, the only thing that anyone can hear is Trelawney's sobs and the click of Umbridge's heels. "And your authority for that statement is..."

The front doors swing open and hit the walls with a loud BANG! Everyone jumps at the sudden noise. Dumbledore is standing in the doorway, fog from outside is trickling into the hall behind him. "That would be mine." He says in a deep, rumbling voice.

He walks into the hall, leaving the doors wide open. George tightens his grip around me, pulling me into him as much as he can. He walks over to McGonagall and Trelawney.

"Yours Professor Dumbledore?" Umbridge says with a small laugh, "I'm afraid you do not understand the position. I have here-" She pulls a scroll of parchment out of her pink robes, "an order of dismissal signed by myself and the minister of magic. Under the terms of the educational decree number twenty-three, the high inquisitor of Hogwarts has the power to inspect, place upon probation and sack and teacher that she-that is to say, I- feel is not performing to the standards required by the ministry of magic. I have decided that Professor Trelawney is not up to scratch. I have dismissed her."

"God let me punch her," I whisper to George.

"Why do you think I'm holding onto you so tight? I know that you'd go over there and hex the smug smile off that bitches face as soon as I let you go." George whispers back to me. It puts a small smile on my face.

Dumbledore smiles at Umbridge, "You are quite right of course Professor Umbridge. As High Inquisitor, you have every right to dismiss my teachers. You don't however, have the authority to send them away from the castle I am afraid." Dumbledore says with a little bow, "that power still resides with the Headmaster, and it is my wish that Professor Trelawney continues to live at Hogwarts."

Professor Trelawney lets out a loud laugh, "No-no I'll g-go, Dumbledore! I sh-shall leave Hogwarts and s-seek my fortune elsewhere!" Trelawney hiccups.

"No." Dumbledore says sharply, "It is my wish that you remain, Sybill." He turns to McGonagall, "Might I ask you to escort Sybill back upstairs, Professor McGonagall?"

We can't hear what McGonagall says but she helps Trelawney up off her trunk and up the stairs. Flitwick comes chasing after the two of them, Trelawney's trunks floating in the air behind his small frame.

Umbridge is standing in a state of shock, staring at Dumbledore, "And what..." She says in a sharp whisper that can be heard throughout the entire entrance hall, "are you going to do with her once I appoint a new Divination teacher who needs her lodgings?"

Dumbledore's smile gets bigger, "Oh that won't be a problem. I've already found a new Divination teacher and he will prefer lodgings on the first floor."

The now very large crowd that has gathered breaks out into quiet murmuring but everyone stops making noise when Umbridge speaks again, "You- You've found? Might I remind you Dumbledore, that under Educational Decree Number twenty-two-"

Dumbledore cuts her off, "The ministry has the right to appoint a suitable candidate if- and only if- the Headmaster is unable to find one. And I am happy to say that on this occasion I have succeeded. May I introduce you?"

We all look to the front door again, it's started to rain a little outside and the floor is starting to get wet, the sound of hooves gets closer and closer. Then, a centaur comes through the mist and into the entrance hall.

"Holy shit," Emma mutters.

"A centaur?" George says loudly the next day as we are all walking through the halls, "I should have taken Divination."

"Don't be stupid, that class is god awful. I wish I never took it." I say Emma and Lee laugh at me.

"Wish I could take it this year, just to see what being taught by a centaur would be like you know?" Fred says.

"You two are leaving soon anyway, it won't concern you in a month's time," Walter says looking Fred and George.

"Less than that Wally. We're nearly finished our great surprise." Fred says clapping him on the shoulder.

"What are the rest of you gonna do without us around?" George asks.

"Actually get homework done?" I say to George.

Fred and George both scoff, "I can't believe that you're gonna be gone soon." Lee says to the boys.

"I mean, we're all going to be gone soon aren't we?" Walter says.

We all go quiet, I guess we never really thought about it, any of us. That after this year we won't be at Hogwarts anymore. We stop outside the great hall and stand around in a circle. I look at all my friends, their smiling faces, the carefreeness of them all. I look around the great big corridor, the stone walls, the torches along the wall, hundreds of thousands of paintings and portraits litter the walls.

"I'm going to fucking miss you all so much," I say. Everyone smiles, nods, looks at each other.

"It's going to be weird, not seeing you all every day. Not knowing when I'll be able to see you all again." Fred says.

"Awh Freddie's got feelings!" Walter coos. Everyone laughs and Fred's ears go pink.

"Can we make a deal? That no matter where we end up, where we are in the world, we meet up with each other someplace on the last day of every month?" Emma says looking at everyone.

"The shop! We'll have it closed every Sunday for family dinners anyways. We can make it so we can meet up the last Sunday of every month." George suggests.

"Starting as soon as we leave Hogwarts yeah?" Lee asks.

Everyone looks at each other again, all of us with massive smiles on our faces, "Definitely."


	147. Part 5, Chapter 30

"Hey, love?" George whispers to me during a study period in Charms class.

I glance over at Flitwick who is not paying any attention to his class, "Hmm?" I say looking at George.

"Have you ever cast a Patronus charm?" He whispers.

"Yeah, when all the Dementors were flying about during fifth year. Emma and I practiced on a few of them." I whisper, "why do you ask?"

George shrugs, "I've never done one... and I'm going to have to soon. Can you help me?"

I glance back at Flitwick who's now got a book floating over top of his open hand casually reading.

"I suppose yeah. But I don't understand why you have to cast one? It's pretty advanced magic even for seventh years..."

"Order business. But I don't want to make a fool out of myself in front of everyone when I can't cast one you know?"

I smile, "So you'd rather make a fool out of yourself in front of me?" I whisper back at him.

"Not like I haven't made a fool out of myself in front of you before. You knew me before puberty hit, that was a god awful time in my life. My voice was so high pitched don't you remember?"

I snort and Flitwick glances around the room, George and I quickly pick up our quills and pretend to be copying out of the textbook, "Don't remind me, you sounded like Umbridge for the first... four years that I knew you? And that whole year when your voice was cracking... You're lucky I stuck around."

George hits me with the end of his quill with a big smile on his face, "You have anything going on after lunch?"

"Yeah, I'm teaching a dumbass how to cast a Patronus charm. You?"

George hits me with the end of his quill again and I laugh again. Flitwick puts his book down, "Miss LeStrange, Mister Weasley. Mind sharing with the class?" He says now standing on top of his desk.

"Course not Professor!" George says standing up, "Violet and I were discussing colour theory! Did you know that shrimp can actually see more colours than humans can!"

A few kids in the class laugh, Flitwick looks unimpressed, "And how does that relate to the reductor curse that we are studying?"

George fumbles over his words a bit, I stand up from my desk, "Well we were talking about what colour the reductor curse is you see. I thought it was more white than blue but George insisted that it was blue. Which brought on the discussion of colour and how many colours that a person can see. Which then brought on the question what colours animals can see. And I remembered something I read..."

"That's enough Miss LeStrange, you've made your point. Please sit down and keep quiet." Flitwick says. The whole class turns back towards the front and starts on their notes again. Emma and Fred are whispering close together, they've moved their desks close together so they are practically bumping shoulders.

Once Flitwick dismissed us Emma and Walter came running over to me. "What are we doing for the boys goodbye party?" Walter asks me.

I pull the two of them out of the classroom and we start walking to the great hall so we can talk without the Gryffindor boys listening in, "What do you mean goodbye party? And why is it always me that has to plan things?"

"They were your friends first," Emma says smiling.

I look at her and roll my eyes, "Yeah and now your sleeping with Freddie..." I look at Walter, "And you're sleeping with Lee." Emma and Walter both go pink, "and you know what? I still haven't gotten a thank you from either one of you. 'Thanks, Violet for introducing me to the love of my life' 'Oh no problem guys!" I turn around and walk backwards so I can see them both.

"I don't think Fred is the love of my life Violet," Emma says smiling.

Walter groans, "Christ Em can't you just admit that you love him or whatever?"

"The last person that I told I loved them was Adrian. Remember when I was with him for all of two seconds?" Emma shivers and Walter and I laugh.

"How could I forget, 'Violet! This sweaty old Quidditch jumper smells like him! Smell it! Smell the sweat stink of my boyfriend!" I say doing my best Emma impression. I bunch up the sleeve of my robe in my hand and shove it under Emma's nose.

Walter roars with laughter and I turn back around so I'm walking normally in between them. I throw my arms over both of their shoulders which is actually pretty uncomfortable for me given that Walter is a solid foot taller than Emma. "I'm going to miss you two."

"Ugh, I thought we got all the sappiness out last week when we promised to see each other once a month," Walter says.

"Shut the fuck up Wally. Let me love my two best friends."

After lunch George meets me outside of the great hall beside a really big, pretty rusty, suit of armour.

"You ready?" I ask him.

George pecks my lips, "Yeah ready when you are."

We decide to head outside and into the old orchard that's on the outskirts of the grounds so we could be alone and not draw too much attention to ourselves. Nearly all the snow is melted now but that means that the grounds are muddy and gross.

"So you know the general idea of the Patronus charm right? You think of a really powerful happy memory and you say the incantation."

George nods, "Sounds easy enough."

"There are two different outcomes. An incorporeal is essentially just a bunch of white light, doesn't really have a form or anything. It works but its not as strong as a corporeal Patronus. It takes the shape of your guardian essentially and its really powerful. Its also really difficult to do the first time so don't beat yourself up if you can't get it."

George scoffs and pulls out his wand, "Bet you ten galleons I get it on the first try." He says cockily.

I put my hands in the air and take a few steps backwards, "Show me what you've got."

George shakes out his shoulders and takes a few breaths. "Happy thoughts, happy thoughts." He mutters under his breath. He cracks his neck and raises his wand. Closes his eyes, takes a minute, then, "Expecto Patronum!" White light comes out of the tip of George's wand, it hovers in the air for a second then dissipates.

"That's ten galleons Weasley," I say smiling at him.

George looks at his wand as if its betrayed him, then he looks at me, "Alright then, if you're so good. You do it."

I pull my wand out of my hair and my hair falls down my shoulders and out of the bun that it was in. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I think about when Draco and I were kids. My aunt and uncle were fighting downstairs so I snuck Draco out of his room and we crawled out of my window and onto the roof. We lied there together looking up at the stars. It was the first real-time that Draco and I realized that it would just be the two of us against the world. It brings a small smile to my face.

I open my eyes, and clear my head of everything but that memory, "Expecto Patronum!" White light shoots out of my wand it twists and turns in the air and morphs into my Patronus, a sphynx cat. It runs through the air around me a few times and disappears.

I look over at George and cross my arms over my chest, "See? Not that hard."

"What did you think of?" George asks me.

I shrug a bit, "One of the only really happy things from my childhood."

George nods a couple of times, "Alright lemme try again." He does the whole thing again, shaking out his arms, cracking his neck. He closes his eyes tighter this time though, and for a longer time, "Expecto Patronum!" he cries.

A big flash of white light, it takes a minute but the ball of light gets smaller, brighter, turns into a bird. George watches is soar around in the sky with a massive smile on his face, "What do you suppose it is?"

"A magpie," I say in awe. The bird flies around a little more then fades away, "Statistically one of the smartest animals in the world."

George looks at me with a huge smile on his face, "You want to know what I was thinking about?"

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to G," I say to him.

George looks at where the bird was last and his mouth twitches back into a smile, "When Fred and I got the letter from the guy selling the storefront. Saying that we got it. That was the happiest day of my life. That was the day that all my dreams became reality."

I walk up behind him and snake my arms around his waist and rest my chin on his shoulder, "That's cute as shit." I whisper.

"Thanks for helping me with all this. I couldn't be the only one who couldn't do it especially since I'm in seventh year."

I pull away from him and walk around so I'm looking at his face. "I thought you said it was for the Order. Aren't you and Fred like the youngest ones in it besides Ron and his friends?"

George rubs his hand on the back of his neck, "I mean technically it is for the Order. But Harry made a secret duelling club cause Umbridge hasn't been teaching us any real defensive magic. Sorry I probably should have told you sooner."

"No, no. It's fine. I seriously doubt that Harry would want me to know about it given the circumstances." We start walking back towards the castle hand in hand.

"Easter holiday is in a few days. You're going to see your mother for the first time..." George says quietly.

"Don't remind me."


	148. Part 5, Chapter 31

When the parchment came around to say whether or not you're leaving for Easter holidays it took me about half an hour staring at it to decide if I was going to go or not.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to Violet. You can always make up some excuse and write to you your mother that you have schoolwork or something." Emma says watching me stare at the parchment as we are studying in the great hall.

"Course I know that..." I tap the end of the quill on the table a million times, "But she wants me... first time in my life that my mother wants me..."

Walter puts his hand on top of mine, half to show support and half to stop me from tapping the quill. "I'm going home for Easter, my grans really sick. We can ride together." He says with a slight squeeze of my hand.

"You never told us that! Oh god, you're letting me go on and on about my problems and you've got loads of your own." I cry. I pull Walter into an awkward sitting side hug and he laughs.

"Wally..." Emma nearly jumps the table and comes over to Walter to hug him on the other side.

Walter laughs, "Really guys its alright. She's like ninety-seven and we all thought she was going to pass years ago."

Emma and I both let go of Walter and Emma goes back to her side of the table. "You're gonna miss the boys' birthday."

"Yeah, I know... George promised that they won't leave Hogwarts till I get back though. He wants me there when they leave, a passionate kiss before him and Fred soar off into the sunset or whatever the hell they've got planned." I say to Emma and Walter.

"I mean that's good. You've got something to look forward too." Emma says trying to lighten the situation.

"Yeah..." I quickly sign my name on the parchment and push it towards Walter. "I don't think I'm going to bring Fergus. Do you mind taking care of him when I'm gone Em?"

"What are you, setting up a babysitter for me?" George says coming up behind us. He sits down at the table which causes a few other Slytherins to look over at him with disgust.

"Well, I was going to set up a babysitter for Fergus...but now that I'm thinking about yeah Em can you watch over Georgie too?" I say to Emma. She laughs and George knocks into me with his shoulder.

Walter signs his name on the parchment and passes it back to me so I can toss it down the table to the next group of kids. George looks at it as it passes him. "So you're going?" He looks at me with a flicker of concern on his face.

"Yeah... Sorry, I'm going to miss your birthday." I kiss the tip of his nose softly.

George smiles, "You could always make it up to me..." He says wiggling his eyebrows a bit.

Emma and Walter hoot and holler which makes everyone turn around to look at us. "Sorry, George but you can't steal my girl away. We've got to study for our transfiguration practical with Lee." Emma says.

"She's right. We have to be able to transfigure humans by the end of the year and none of us have quite perfected the technique." I look over at George and he hangs his head. I rub his back with my hand, "Course..." I whisper into his ear, "Emma tends to go to bed pretty early these days."

George smiles at me, kisses my temple bout a hundred times and dashes back over to the Gryffindor table.

Draco decided to come with me back home over Easter so Walter, Dray, and I are all sitting at a booth in the Slytherin car on the train.

"Do you think that after whatever is going on happens that you'll move out of the Manor and in with your parents?" Draco asks me with wide eyes.

Walter quickly busies himself with his charms textbook trying to give us some privacy.

"Uhh, I dunno Dray. I mean once I'm out of Hogwarts I was going to move out anyways... I was thinking about getting a flat in Hogsmeade though so I could still see you when you go on the Hogsmeade trips."

Draco shrugs a bit but I can tell that what I said had an effect on him. "I just never really thought about the fact that you would be leaving home one day."

"Just because I'll be out of the house doesn't mean that I'll stop being your cousin Draco. You're my best friend dude." I nudge him with my shoulder. Walter looks up from his book and smiles at me a bit.

Draco dozes off not long after that, using my shoulder as a pillow. "A place in Hogsmeade? I thought you would move to London with the boys. Live with George at the shop or something." Walter says to me quietly. A few younger students are sitting a little way away chattering about their chess game.

"I want to obviously. But I don't think that it would be the best idea. I mean if a second war happens I don't want to put the boys in danger. Which means that I'm going to have to cut ties with them as soon as we're done at Hogwarts."

Walter looks at me with sad eyes, "You really think that there is going to be a second war?"

I shrug, "The Dark Lord has been recruiting people, breaking his followers out of Azkaban. Why else would he need such a big following if he isn't planning on fighting?"

Walter flips the page in his book but he doesn't look at it, "Would you hate me if I joined the Order?" He whispers.

I smile a little, "The Order?"

"Well I was just... my mums a muggle and my dad left the Death Eaters a long time ago. And if there's a war I would want to fight in it, protect my family..."

I reach across the table and squeeze Walter's hand, careful not to disturb Draco's sleep, "Of course you do Wally. Join the Order. I support you a hundred and ten percent."

Walter smiles a little but pulls his hand away from me, "But if there's a war... we might have to, you know..."

That thought never crossed my mind before today. The fact that my boyfriend, his family, people that I go to school with and that I've grown to love. If there's a war I'm going to be fighting against them. Be faced with the kill or be killed decision. "If there's a war, I'll spend the entire time trying to protect you all from Death Eaters. I'll die protecting you if I have to."

Walter shakes his head a bit, "You sure you're not a Gryffindor? This stupid fucking blind brave-ness you've got going on?"

"This isn't blind brave-ness Walter. If I have to die so that someone that I save, that I protect will be able to win for the right people then that's what matters. And it's not like I won't have a calculated plan. When have you ever known me to run into something blind?"

Walter rolls his eyes, "You're an idiot."

I mean back into my seat and cross my arms, "Never call me a Gryffindor again, that's rather insulting." I say smiling at him.

"You're literally dating a Gryffindor."


	149. Part 5, Chapter 32

When Draco and I get to the Malfoy Manor we both stand outside of the front gate for a really long time.

"Are you ready?" Draco asks looking at me.

I gulp and take a deep breath, "Not in the slightest."

"Do you want to wait out here longer?"

"No."

I take another deep breath and push open the big gate that's at the front of our property. I can see Norby running down the path to get our things. "Master LeStrange! Master Malfoy! Norby is happy to have you back in the house she is!"

Draco and I smile at her before continuing down the path to the big wooden doors. Draco looks at me and I nod at him before he pulls open the door.

"Violet! Draco! Oh, how I've missed you both!" Aunt Narcissa says as she turns the corner from the living room into the front foyer. She hugs us both before she calls up the stairs, "Trixie! Violet's home!"

In an instant two big clouds of black smoke soar down the stairs and land in front of Draco and I. I recognize them immediately. My parents.

"Violet..." My mother says softly. She steps towards me, a big smile on her face reveals yellow and rotting teeth, undoubtedly from spending years in Azkaban. Her teeth don't take away from her beauty. She stands with the same sort of casual elegance that I've noticed every child from the house of Black has within them.

"mother..." I can barely get the word out without crying so it comes out as a faint whisper. I look over at the man standing behind her. He's tall, broad shoulders. Clearly very buff at one point in his life but he's stick-thin now, no body fat what so ever. His black hair is shoulder length and very thick. We have the same eyes, the same nose shape... "father..."

My mother comes closer to me, puts a hand on my cheek, the first time I've felt the touch of my mother in fifteen years. "You're so grown up..." She says to me. "And so tall! You must get that from your father." She glances over her shoulder at my father then spins back around to me, "Your father and I didn't marry for love. And I thought for the longest time that the whole thing was useless. But seeing you, my daughter, perfect, standing in front of me..."

I laugh a bit and fight back the urge to start crying. "I've missed you." I look over at my father who is still standing by the stairs, "I've missed you both."

We all go into the dining room, the Dark Lord is sitting in his usual spot at the head of the table, "Hello my Lord. I've missed you." I say. Blatant lie but my mother and father eat it right up. "And thank you for reuniting me with my parents." Truth, this is what I've wanted my whole life no matter how scary it is. I bow slightly.

"While the... house-elf makes us dinner to celebrate your and Draco's return home. Why don't you show your parents just how powerful of a witch you've become." The Dark Lord says.

"Oh my Lord I don't think that is such a good-" I start.

"Don't you DARE talk back to the Dark Lord!" My mother screeches which causes me to nearly jump out of my skin. She pushes past my father, my aunt, my uncle, and Draco and goes to stand by the Dark Lord.

"Now, now Bella. It's alright. Young Violet here is just shy..." The Dark Lord says to me. My mother instantly softens back into the woman that I met in the front foyer. "Rodolphus please go get your daughter someone to demonstrate on."

My father, without saying a word walks past me and into the office. My heartbeat starts to pick up pace as I get flashbacks from Christmas. Aunt Narcissa, Uncle Lucius, and Draco all take seats at the dining table, facing me.

My father comes back into the room dragging a young woman out by her hair. She's screaming in pain but I try my hardest to block it out. My mother starts to laugh, loud, maniacal, like the woman's pain makes her happy.

"Please Dark Lord. Oh please let me have this one!" My mother bounces up and down in her spot like a little kid.

"Bella, watch your daughter." The Dark Lord says sharply. I look over at him and he nods, "It's a squib. The product of un-pure blood. Kill it. Slowly." The Dark Lord says to me.

I take my wand out and fiddle with it in my hands for a minute. I look down at my feet and then at the woman. She can't be much older than me. Fuck this.

"Alarte Ascendare!" I point my wand at the woman and she soars high into the air and comes crashing back down to the floor with a thump. She screams loud, no doubt breaking a bone or two when she landed.

"HAHAHA!" My mother shrieks. I look over at Draco and he is watching me with a mixture of amazement and fear.

I look back to the woman who is trying to prop herself up into a sitting position, "Bombarda!" I point my wand at the floor right beside the woman, causing it to explode. She screams and shuffles backwards.

"Duro!" The woman instantly goes rigid, stone spreads over her skin slowly. She's screaming, crying, begging me to make it stop. Both my mother and the Dark Lord are laughing now. I wait till she is fully stone. I'm hoping, praying, that it didn't hurt her. That it was just scary.

"Finish her Violet," The Dark Lord says calmly. His eyes are bright, his mouth is twisted into a permanent smile. It's like he's sitting on the edge of his seat, waiting to see what happens.

"DO IT!" My mother screams. The Dark Lord puts his hand on her arm and she softens again.

"Reducto!" The woman, well now statue, bursts into a million pieces and crumbles to the floor in a massive heap.

I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding, my hands are shaky, my heart is beating a mile a minute. The sudden realization hits me, I just killed someone. My thoughts are interrupted by clapping. My mother is giggling gleefully, my aunt and uncle are clapping politely. My father, who hasn't said a single thing is clapping, smiling at me. The only one not celebrating is Draco. He's sitting there, looking into his lap, silent.

"Fantastic!" The Dark Lord says, "Dinner and a show!"

I don't look back over to the pile of ash that was a woman moments ago, instead, I go over to the table that is now full of food that Norby made. I sit between my mother and father, the same way that Draco is sitting between his parents.

"Cissy you and Lucius raised her just the way I wanted her to be raised. Look at her! A strong, powerful, pureblood witch." My mother says looking across the table at my aunt Narcissa.

Everyone breaks off into small conversations, Draco and I just stare at each other from across the table not saying anything. After dinner, Norby comes in and quickly clears the table. Aunt Narcissa excuses Draco and I from the table.

"Draco? Are you alright?" I ask him once we are upstairs and away from our parents.

Draco stops in front of his door and turns around slowly, "I'm not the one that killed someone... Are you alright?"

Instantly tears stream down my face. Draco comes over to me and holds me against him which only makes me cry harder, "I- I'm not this person- I-I'm no-ot a bad perso-n." I sob into Draco's shoulder.

He pulls me closer to him, "Shh I know. I know. You didn't have a choice." He says softly.

"I'm sorry." I whisper, "I'm sorry you had to see that." I hug Draco tighter and he does the same to me, "I'm supposed to protect you. I'm supposed to make sure you don't see the bad stuff."

"Violet, it's alright. Do you need me to stay with you tonight?" He pulls away from me and looks into my eyes.

I wipe my tears away and hold my face in my hands, "Uh no I'm okay. It's alright. You need a good night's sleep in your own bed." I blink a few times and run my hands over my face, "I'm good. Everything's good."

Draco nods, "Well you should write to George. If you're not ready to talk to me about it you should at least tell him." I look up at him, "Use that quill of yours, gets the message to him instantly does it not?" He winks at me and smiles before heading back into his room


	150. Part 5, Chapter 33

I take Draco's advice and write to George as soon as I get into my room, closing and sealing the door behind me. I go over to the small trunk I've brought home with me and pull out the bewitched quill and some ink. I sit at my desk, pop open the inkpot. And sit there.

Thinking.

I mean how do I tell my boyfriend that I just killed someone.

I just fucking killed someone.

I drop my quill and put my head in my hands. I refuse to cry again though. I can't cry again. Shaking it off I pick up my quill again and dip it in some ink.

YOU AROUND?

I stand up from my desk and start to pace around my room waiting for George's response. I still don't know how I'm going to word this. How do I tell someone, specifically an Order member that I've killed someone? I'm just as bad as the rest of them. I'm just as bad as the rest of them. I'm just as bad as...

ALWAYS AROUND FOR YOU. WHAT HAPPENED?

I read George's message and I laugh, I laugh for a long time. 'Oh not much just killed some random squib how's your holiday going?'

THEY MADE ME DO SOMETHING. TO SHOW OFF FOR MY PARENTS

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

THE CRUCIATUS CURSE AGAIN?

I take a deep breath and sit back down at my desk. I don't want to tell him. He might tell Fred who will tell Ron who will tell Harry who will tell Sirius who will tell Arthur who will tell Dumbledore... What am I thinking? He won't tell anyone, he's George!

NO. BUT THEY MADE ME PRACTICE CURSES ON SOMEONE

My head hurts from the stress that I'm under, my entire body feels like its giving up on itself.

WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THAT?

I could lie to him. Tell him that someone else killed the woman. But just the thought of lying to George makes my stomach churn.

THEY DIED

I won't be surprised if I don't get an answer back. I won't be surprised if George never wants to see me again. God my heart feels like it's going to explode. I stand from the desk, my knee's give out, I fall back into my chair. God oh god why did I tell him. I just fucking killed someone.

THEY MADE YOU KILL THEM?

The corners of my vision go black and I feel like I'm going to pass out. I'm trying so hard not to cry that my eyes genuinely hurt. I can feel the pulse in my ring start to go faster than normal which reminds me that he probably thinks I'm dying with how fast my heart is going.

YEAH

No going back now I guess. The pulsing in my ring quickens. He's going to break up with me.

HOW ARE YOU?

We talk for hours after that, him assuring me that I am not that person. Me assuring him that I am okay.

Every night, just before dinner, the Dark Lord stands me in the middle of the dining room, as my father brings a new person forward, whether it be a squib or a homeless muggle he managed to find. Then he says the same thing to me, "Kill it. Slowly." He says it like it's his only source of happiness. Mother is always standing at his side laughing, watching me with a smile on his face. Cheering for me, laughing at the victim.

I've tried hard to do it in the most humane ways I can think of, which means that I've been practicing human transfiguration a bunch. Cause it's easier to kill a cockroach than a person. It's easier to convince your mind that it's just a cockroach... It's just a cockroach... Step on it, it's just a cockroach.

"Tonight young Violet. Given it is your last night home before the summer. I want you to kill it quickly." The Dark Lord says.

Everyone is in their usual spots. Uncle Lucius, Aunt Narcissa, and Draco sitting at the table watching me. My mother standing beside the Dark Lord, smiling and giggling like a little school girl. My father standing tall and silent behind the victim, in this case, a very old muggle man that was living on the streets of London.

"Quickly my Lord?" I ask, my voice trembling. I would have thought that killing a person a day would make me numb to it all but every time Draco and I are excused from the table after dinner I break down into Draco's arms. But it's better him than me. I never want him to have to do the things that I have to do.

"The killing curse my child. You haven't used it all week and I would like you to try." The Dark Lord says flatly.

"Course my Lord," I whisper to myself.

"He can't hear you!" My mother screams. It makes me flinch a bit but I try my hardest not to let it show.

I look the old muggle man in the eye and I hope to god that he can tell that I don't want to do this. I bow my head slightly to him, so little that no one else seems to notice. The man looks at me, bloody and broken, both of his eyes nearly fully swelled shut and bows back to me.

"You have to mean it or else it won't work. You have to want it dead." The Dark Lord says to me.

I nod and look back at the old man. I don't want him dead, I don't want anyone dead. But he's in pain. I can see that. His arm is hanging limply by his side, he's got massive cuts all down his chest and back. He's hurting and I have the ability to stop that.

I raise my wand, aiming it perfectly at the man's head, I take a deep breath, I can take away this mans pain. "Avada Kedavra!" Green light streams out of my wand and hits in the middle of his forehead. The man crumples to the floor in a heap of dirty clothes. Dead.

My mother screams laughs again and claps her hands together. Soon everyone is clapping, for the seventh time in a row I'm standing in front of a dead body. A body that I killed.


	151. Part 5, Chapter 34

On the ride back to Hogwarts I don't say a single thing. Draco explains to Walter that it's probably shell shock from what I had to do over the holiday but he doesn't tell Walter what it is I did. Remind me to thank him for that.

Every time my wand is in my hand I hear screams. George has been trying to talk to me ever since the first night but I haven't responded. I don't know how to tell him that I've killed seven people. How do you tell someone that?

Nine hours later and we are all pulling our trunks off of the Hogwarts Express. The carriages waiting for us. Walter and I both step off the platform and walk down the dirt path to the carriages.

"Are you alright Vi?" Walter whispers to me.

I sigh and look up from the ground at him, "No. I'm really not okay. But I sort of have to be don't I?" I whisper. I look to my left where Draco is supposed to be but no ones there, "Draco?" I spin around and see him standing on the platform still, staring at the carriages, staring at the Thestrals.

"What are those things?" Draco says as I walk back up to him.

I put my hand on his shoulder and smile sadly, "Thestrals. You can only see them if you've seen someone die. I'm sorry." I whisper the last part to him.

"So... you can see them too?" He says looking at me. I nod a couple of times. He looks back at the carriages, "Ugly bastards aren't they?"

Draco hops off the platform and he, Walter, and I all load up into a carriage and are pulled off towards the castle.

"You're boyfriend's waiting for you." Draco points out when the castle comes into view.

George is standing on the front steps of Hogwarts looking awkward and very stressed out. As soon as the carriage comes to a full stop George runs over and helps me out and onto the ground. He kisses my forehead and pulls me into a hug.

"I've missed you so fucking much." Kiss, "Are you alright?" Kiss. "What happened after that day?" Kiss.

"I'm fine yeah. Sorry I didn't get back to you after that day. It's just been a lot. Meeting my parents and everything." I say to him. Draco steps off the carriage and walks around George. I look at him over George's shoulder, he doesn't say anything but he nods and heads inside.

"Course yeah... Are you alright though? I mean course you're not alright but I mean..." George trails off looking into my eyes. I don't have to say a word for him to know that something isn't right, "Hey, are you not telling me something?" He whispers. He brushes stray hairs out of my face.

"No, nothing. Just tired. Walk me back to my common room?" I half-whisper.

George nods. He takes my trunk from me and holds it in one hand, the other hand holding mine. We walk quietly through the halls, listening to the low rumble of chatter coming from everyone around us.

"So what are they like? You're parents?" George asks me after a while.

Instantly I can't breathe, "Uhh, well my father's really tall. Super skinny. I've got his nose and his eyes... and hair I guess cause his is black too. But um, he didn't say anything. Not a single word. Just sort of looked at me a lot."

George looks at me, "That's sort of..."

"Weird yeah. But I mean I guess that's what happens when you've been locked away in a prison for fifteen years. My mothers a lot though. One second she's really soft and I dunno, motherly? And the next second she's angry and yelling. The only person besides my aunt that can calm her down seems to be the Dark Lord."

George doesn't say anything for a minute and I can tell that he's thinking long and hard about what he should say, "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry about G. It's just what it is," I say back to him quickly.

George stops me and pulls me over to the wall so that we can talk and not be in the way of anyone. "I don't have to be at fault to be sorry." George puts my trunk down and takes both of my hands in his. "There's something that you're not telling me."

"No there's not. Stop pushing me."

"Stop pushing me away! Tell me what happened. What actually happened!" He lowers his voice cause he's noticed that people are staring, "Please baby. Let me help you."

A few tears fall down my cheeks and I wipe my face on my shoulder, "George I killed seven people. What can you do to help me with that?" I sort of snap at him.

George let's go of my hands and I let them fall limp to my sides, "What do you mean that you killed seven people? You told me about the one... I thought that was it. I-"

They made me do it once a night, a different way each time. The Dark Lord called it dinner and a show." I chuckle to myself trying to lighten the situation a bit, "My mother cheered me on, begged the Dark Lord to let her have a turn. But he said it was my responsibility. I had to kill it. That's what he said. It. Like the people in front of me were nothing. Meant nothing." I wrap my arms around myself and hold myself tightly.

George doesn't do anything for a minute then he pulls me into his chest and holds me tight. Instantly I start to cry. Everything that I tried to keep inside comes pouring out. Here in George's arms, the realization hits me like lightning. I've killed someone. I killed multiple someones.

"I won't leave Hogwarts. I'll stay with you." George says into my hair.

I pull away from him just enough to see his face, "No. You've got to go. Get out of here, bring smiles to people's faces." George opens his mouth to say something but I kiss his lips to get him to stop. "I'm serious."

"Then it's tomorrow. Five o'clock. In the front entrance." George says.

"You're mums gonna hate it," I say to him.

George smiles, "At first yeah, but she's going to love it in the long run."

I look at George and smile at him a bit, "I mean... If tomorrow's you're last day here..."

George looks at me confused, "You're joking, right? Violet you've got tear stains on your face."

"Help me feel good," I whisper.

George laughs a bit and looks away, "Baby..."

I take his chin in my hand and pull his attention back to me, "Please?"

"You can't bury your problems with sex Violet. It's unhealthy" George says to me.

"That's not what I'm doing? I'm trying to be with my boyfriend before he leaves school and goes to run a joke shop because the world is on fire and I don't know when I'll see him again." I say louder than I should have.

"How about... I walk you to your common room, we drop off your things, you change into sweatpants or something and we walk the halls and talk, joke around? Pretend like we are in third year all over again?" George says to me, "Cause that sounds a lot more enjoyable to me."

I nod, "Yeah that sounds perfect." George picks my trunk up again and we start walking down the corridor. "Thank you," I whisper.

"Course my love."


	152. Part 5, Chapter 35

I slip out of class at about four-thirty with Emma and Lee. We meet up with Walter a little further down the corridor before rushing down the stairs. Fred and George are standing there in front of a massive package.

"We've already the fifth-floor corridor outside of Umbridge's office turned into a swamp. That was our big surprise you see. Portable Swamps." George says smiling.

"You guys ready?" Fred asks us, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Hell yeah," Walter says with a smile on his face.

Fred and George look at each other, whisper some last-minute things to one another then get to work. They open the big package and run through the front entrance putting Weasley's Wildfire Whizbangs in virtually every corner of the corridor. People who were in the great hall or just walking through started to gather around. While Fred is busy unpacking more fireworks out of the massive package in the middle of the mess, George is handing out dung bombs, canary creams, anti-gravity hats, self-propelling custard pies, pretty much anything that the two of them have invented to the people that have gathered.

"On our count I want you to set everything off alright?" Fred says loudly through the corridor. Everyone cheers in agreement. There's got to be about a hundred kids now, each armed with a surplus of Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes products.

Fred and George run on the stairs to us. George kisses me hard before looking at his brother.

"Ready Fred?"

"Ready George."

They pull out their wands. George's got his pointed at the big package in the middle, Fred has got his pointed at the closest firework.

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

The entire front entrance explodes. Fireworks go off in every which way, hats go soaring, human-sized birds start walking through the crowds. The air is full of smoke and dung bomb smell. But the greatest thing? The dragon made out of fireworks that has taken residence in the middle of the foyer. Cheers, applause, laughter. Peeves soaring through the air above us singing like mad.

Umbridge.

She comes down the stairs behind us, forcing the six of us to step down to the ground floor. Her small lips puckered, her toad-like face in a permanent frown.

"So!" She says triumphantly. I can see Harry a few steps above her looking completely impressed with the whole thing, "So- you think it's amusing to turn a school corridor into a swamp do you?"

Fred and George turn to look at each other, clearly impressed with their handiwork. Everyone else in the corridor is waiting for their response eagerly, myself included.

"Pretty amusing yeah," Fred says looking up at Umbridge. His eyebrow is raised slightly like he's asking for a challenge.

Argus Filch comes pushing through the crowd and runs over to Umbridge, "I've got the form Headmistress." He's waving a piece of parchment in the air above his head, "I've got the form and I've got the whips waiting... oh let me do it now..." He says. He's got tears of happiness in his eyes.

"Very good Argus," Umbridge says to him with a little smile. She turns back to the boys, her lips curling as she speaks, "You two. Are about to learn what happens to wrongdoers in my school."

George looks at me and winks.

"You know what? I don't think we are." Fred says back to Umbridge, his smile never leaving his face. "George." He turns to his brother, "I think we've outgrown full-time education."

"Yeah, I've been feeling that way myself," George says, his voice full of air and happiness.

"Time to test our talents in the real world, d'you reckon," Fred asks. I glance away from the boys for a moment to look at Umbridge. She looks as if she's been punched in the gut but she's happy about it.

"Definitely," George says back to his brother.

Before Umbridge could say anything the boys raise their wands into the sky, "ACCIO BROOM!" They shout at the same time. There's a loud crash that can be heard from upstairs. Harry moves out of the way just in time. Fred and George's brooms come soaring through the air towards the twins. Fred's brooms still got a long chain and a deadbolt attached to it. Probably what Umbridge used to fasten it to the wall of her office.

"We won't be seeing you," Fred says swinging his leg over his broom, looking right at Umbridge.

"Yeah, don't bother staying in touch," George says, mounting his broom as well.

Fred looks around the corridor at all the excited faces of our peers, "If anyone fancies buying a portable swamp as demonstrated upstairs, come to ninety-three Diagon Alley. Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes" Fred says in a loud, booming voice. "Our new premises!"

"Special discounts to Hogwarts students who swear they're going to use our products to get rid of this old bat," George says pointing at Umbridge.

"Stop them!" Umbridge screeches.

George grabs onto my hand and pulls me close, "I love you." He says quickly.

I put my hand on the back of his neck and kiss him as hard and as passionate as I've ever done before. As I'm kissing him he kicks off the ground. I pull back and he shoots about fifteen feet in the air alongside his brother.

The twins laugh, the crowd erupts underneath them, cheering and clapping, chanting their names. I can hear Fred over the noise of the crowd, "Give her hell for us Peeves." He says to the school's most famous poltergeist. Peeves, someone who only takes orders from the Bloody Baron, takes off his hat and bows to the boys.

I look up at George, he smiles and winks at me before he and Fred shoot off through the open front doors. Everyone chases after them for a spell, watching them soar off into the sunset.

I look around me, everyone's cheering, laughing, screaming the Weasley name. Emma, Walter, Lee, and I all look at each other. "They're legends." Lee shouts. He pulls us all into a massive hug.

I hold my friends close. I'm so fucking proud of the boys. The small, sort of sad-looking red-headed twins that I met on the train seven years ago, now Hogwarts legends. But it hurts. Exams are coming up and George isn't around to take my mind off it. Fred isn't around to crack jokes when he can see that I'm overly stressed. And it's not like I'm never going to see them again. Course I am. The last Sunday of every month for sure. Little visits between then probably. Especially with George.

I look away from the crowd and into the sunset, I swear I can still hear the two of them laughing.


	153. Part 5, Chapter 36

"One more class like that and I might just pull a Weasley." I hear a student say in the halls late May. Its been a solid month since the boys decided to fly away from Hogwarts and everyone is still talking about it. I mean it's hard not to talk about it when their swamp is still on the fifth floor. Umbridge can't seem to figure out how to get rid of it and because the boys are oh so kind they've left no instructions to get rid of it.

"Have you spoke to George recently?" Emma says coming up to me in the common room.

"We've been sending owls back and forth but he's really busy with the shop so it hasn't exactly been perfect," I say back to her. I pat the spot on the couch beside me and she sits down.

"I miss them. More than I thought I would honestly." Emma sighs. She kicks off her shoes and crosses her legs underneath her, pulling out the Charms textbook.

"You miss both of them or just Fred?" I say looking at her with a smile on my face.

Emma laughs, "Both of them. The whole school feels different without them."

It's true. Ever since the boys left the schools been full of chaos. The corridors are full of the smell of dung bombs and the smoke from fireworks that if you don't walk out of your classroom with the bubblehead charm then you're setting yourself for failure. Peeves has kept his word to the boys. He's been the worst he's ever been, or best depending on how you look at it. Unscrewing chandeliers (which rumour has it McGonagall helped him with), dropping the dragon dung that he's stolen from the Herbology greenhouses onto Umbridge's head so much that she walks around with an umbrella. It's been crazy. But if Fred and George were here they would have loved every second of it.

"I know what you mean. But hey, in a month's time we're going to be out of this place." I say to her.

Walter comes walking through the common room entrance with Cassius, Miles, and Adrian. Graham went missing for a few days and they found him stuffed in a toilet. No one is quite sure what happened but he's been in the hospital wing ever since. According to Cassius, he's really disoriented and confused. Apparently his parents are coming to visit him.

Emma waves Walter over and he excuses himself from the boys. After we got back from holiday Walter told me that he and his dad joined the Order but that was the last I heard about anything. He's been getting quite a lot of mail, mostly from his dad keeping him in the loop about things. I on the other hand haven't heard from anyone since Easter holidays, nor have I written anything to them. I told Emma and Walter about what I had to do over the break on the night after the boys left.

"Violet have you started your Herbology paper? I haven't been able to find anything on the plant I decided to study." Walter asks as he sits down in the armchair near the couch Emma and I are on.

"Well, that's what you get when you go to study something that isn't in the curriculum. I mean honestly Walter, Sprout said you could choose any plant we have studied over the past seven years to grow and study for your final and you had to choose something that even Sprout had to look up." Emma says not bothering to look up from her studies.

"She did not have to look it up. It just took her a minute to remember what it was. I heard that Ron's friend has one too, a Mimbulus Mimbletonia." Walter says as he pulls out a really big, really old, library book from his bag. "Pince said there would be something I could use in my paper in this book."

"You're plant is so obscure that the Gryffindors were using it as a password for a while Wally," I say to him. Emma laughs. "Also, Pince only gave you one book? Didn't you tell her that we need at least seven different research pieces? Sprout needs a list of all the books we used."

Draco storms into the room, his nose as long as his wand. Everyone bursts into laughter. "I hate the fucking Weasleys." He says coming over to us, "They're not here to fill the position of school trouble makers anymore so people all over are trying to take their place. And course cause I'm on the inquisitor squad..."

"Leader of the inquisitor squad..." Emma mumbles which makes Walter and I both smile.

I don't think Draco heard her because he just keeps talking, "So I'm being targeted by it all. But I'm just trying to make the school a better place. A safer place! Why can't anyone see that?"

He flops himself onto the coffee table so he's sitting in front of me. "What did they do to your hands dude?" I joke.

Draco looks at me, his nose almost touching mine and he's nowhere close to me, "You're fucking kidding right?"

"Language Draco," I say.

"Who cares about language! I could go snorkelling with this thing!" He cries, "Could you please get rid of it?"

"How do you know what snorkelling is? Wizards don't go snorkelling." Walter asks sitting up in his chair a bit.

"What even is snorkelling?" Emma and I say at the same time.

"Oh, a snorkel is this tube thing that you put in your mouth when you want to swim underwater for a long time. You leave one end of it above the water so you're still able to breathe. Scuba diving is better, that's when you-" Walter gets cut off my Draco.

"Hello! That is not the pressing issue here!" He cries.

Emma, Walter, and I burst into laughter, "Alright fine. What did they hit you with?" I ask him.

"Just a simple engorgement charm. I would undo it myself but I can't get my aim right. And there was no way in hell I was trusting Crabbe and Goyle to do it. Their aim is awful." Draco says.

I haven't used my wand since I've gotten back from Easter holiday, all of my teachers make me use non-verbal magic which doesn't require the use of a wand. Which helps me a lot cause every time I touch my wand I get flashbacks to Easter holidays. Something that I forgot at this moment, cause I pulled my wand out of my hair and instantly started to get panicky.

"Oh Violet it's not that big of a deal just point your wand at me," Draco says rolling his eyes. He's picked up on my sudden mood change but he hasn't clued in as to why it's really happening. Not that I expect him to that is, I haven't told anyone about my new found fear of myself, not even George.

"Reducio," I say almost lazily and flick my wand towards Draco's nose. Instantly it shrinks back down to its normal size. I shove my wand back underneath my ponytail and make sure that it's stuck firmly in my hair.

Draco puts his hand on his face and pats around a few times to make sure that it actually worked. "God, you're the best!" He gets up and kisses my forehead and goes off to his friends, all of whom appear to have had some sort of charm practiced on them recently. I could have sworn that I saw antlers on Pansy's head.


	154. Part 5, Chapter 37

Hey beautiful!

I miss you more than words can say. The shops is fantastic! I can't wait for you all to see it. Three whole floors full of our products. I still can't believe that we've done it. Mum and Dad came to see it the other day. Mum actually cried, said she was proud of us.

Are people still talking about us? I can't believe that they've been saying that they're 'going to pull a Weasley' Have they figured out how to get rid of the swamp yet? I know you said that Umbridge couldn't manage to get it done but I'm surprised that Flitty or McG couldn't get it.

Exams are coming up so I'm not expecting a response from you anytime soon. I know that I don't have to wish you luck because you're always top of our class but I'm going to say it anyway. Good luck darling. The faster you get your exams finished the faster I can have you in my arms again.

Have you heard anything from your parents? Or your Aunt and Uncle? There's been whispering in the Order but no one seems to bother to fill us in. I've heard that Mister Clarence and good old Wally joined after Easter. I'm a little bit shocked honestly, Wally never struck me as the fighting type.

Speaking of Walter, he and Lee are still together right? I hope those two never break up. Also! I dunno if Emma told you but she and Fred have been sending letters back and forth. Nothing too racy I don't think just keeping each other informed about what's going on in their lives.

I best be off, Fred needs me to cook up a few more skiving snack boxes tonight. We've also got to interview people for a cashier position, especially since summer is so close. I love you, I miss you. I'll see you soon.

Yours, Georgie

I read the letter four times over once I take it off of the owl that George sent. I slip a Knut into the pouch that's attached to its leg and it flies back out of the window it came from. My last exam is today. Transfiguration with Emma and Lee. It's bound to be the hardest exam that I had this year, three hour written portion covering everything we've ever learned this year, and one hour for the perfect human transfiguration.

"We better be off Violet. I'd rather not be late for McGonagall's exam." Emma says to me.

"No yeah, let's head off," I say. I fold the letter back up and slip it into the envelope before putting it in my robe pocket and picking up my bag.

"Good luck you two!" Walter calls after us. I blow him a kiss before leaving the great hall and Emma and I rush up the stairs to the transfiguration class. The only good thing that has come from Umbridge being Headmistress or whatever it is is that fifth and seventh years no longer have to write their written portions in the great hall all at once anymore. I remember being in fifth year absolutely terrified of the seventh years.

Lee is standing at the closed door with a few of the other students in the class each of them have their textbooks or notes in their hands reading facts off and quizzing each other.

"Violet! Do you remember all the steps for the transformation formula?" Ravenclaw student Daniel practically shouts at me when he sees me.

"Yeah, it's uhh, bodyweight, viciousness, wand power, concentration, and zoology," I say remembering the note that I read off of not fifteen minutes before this.

The door opens, instantly I start to freak out a bit. I can feel my own heartbeat get faster so I assume that George's ring is pulsing like mad right now. "All that you are allowed to bring inside is one quill, and one bottle of ink. The rest of your belongings will be left in the hall" McGonagall says sternly. "Before the test begins I will be checking each of your quills for any charms as well as your ink. Cheating on your NEWT levels is grounds for expulsion and you will be unable to take another year at Hogwarts to try and make up for it. Do I make myself clear?"

Everyone mumbles a 'yes ma'am' as we sort through our things to get our quills and ink.

"Also. Five points will be deducted from your final grade if you are not in proper uniform." McGonagall looks at Alex who seems to have misplaced his yellow and black tie. "Come in and sit at the desk with your name on it once you've gotten everything sorted." She turns and goes back into the classroom.

"Good luck everyone," Lee says to the whole class. I take the letter that George sent me out of my pocket and into my bag before putting it against the wall with everyone else's things.

It takes McGonagall about fifteen minutes to check everyone's quills and ink. She flies the test papers and parchment to our desks, "You have three hours. Once those three hours are complete I will take your tests away, you will break off into the partners that you have been working with all year and you will demonstrate human transfiguration. You will be changing your partner into a snail and back again, each of you will have five minutes to complete the entire process." She turns to watch the big clock on the back wall. The smallest hand clicks to exactly one o'clock. "Begin."

Hour 1: There are twenty equations. You must choose fifteen and solve them using the transformation formula. Three points for every correct answer, minus one point for every incorrect answer.

Hour 2: A composition on the complete history of the Vanishing spell. Must include the pros and cons of using the spell, the incantation, wand movements (with a diagram), as well as what can happen if it is not performed perfectly. The more information you have the more points you can get, maximum is thirty points.

Hour 3: Eight short-answer questions all to do with the bird-conjuring charm. Each answer must be five lines of writing long. Six points per question, minus two points if your answer is less than five lines, minus three points if your answer is over five lines.

As soon as the clock hits four o'clock, everyone's test papers fly off their desks whether they were finished or not. The papers stack perfectly on top of McGonagall's desk. She stands from her chair and looks at all of us. "First up, Miriam and Cassius." She says.

Miriam and Cassius awkwardly get up out of their desks, wands in hand. They stand facing each other at the front of the class. "Miriam. You have five minutes to turn Cassius into a snail, then back again. If completed, you will get fifty points. If it is a partial transfiguration, you get twenty-five."

When McGonagall says 'go', Miriam points her wand right at Cassius' chest. She takes a minute, then flicks her wand up very quickly. Orange light hits Cassius and he shrinks down to the ground. It's a rather disturbing sight honestly. Cassius now has the body of a snail, but his head has stayed the same.

"What did you do to me!" Cassius roars from the floor. Everyone in the class is trying their hardest not to laugh.

"Oh bloody hell." Miriam groans. She closes her eyes and flicks her wand again. Cassius, thankfully, is back into total human form.

"Miriam, twenty-five points." McGonagall says, "Cassius, you're time starts now."

Thankfully Cassius was able to perform two total transfigurations which means we don't have to bear witness to another half snail, half-human thing flopping around on the ground. The only other person that couldn't manage a full transfiguration was Holly. She ended up doing the snail part just fine, but when she tried to change Alex back into a human... let's just say you never want to see a human with a snail head, it's a truly terrifying sight.

"Violet, Emma, and Lee are the final three of the day," McGonagall announces. The three of us get up and walk to the front of the room.

Lee turns Emma into a snail, then back again. I turn Lee, back and forth into a snail. Then it's Emma's turn.

"Don't fuck me up Em," I whisper, quiet enough so that McGonagall doesn't hear me. Emma giggles nervously which does nothing for my nerves.

I close my eyes and wait to be hit with the spell. In an instant, I lose all feeling in my arms and legs, my back is suddenly heavy like I'm wearing a backpack. And I feel absolutely disgusting. I open my eyes and I'm staring at Emma's shoe. I try to talk but nothing happens, I don't even think my mouth opened. I start to stress out. All I can think of is that woman that I turned into a cockroach over Easter break. How I stepped on her and squished her into the ground like the butt of one of Sirius' cigarettes. I hate it, come on Emma, turn me back. I shut my eyes again and hope for the best, I'm trying my hardest to calm myself down but I don't have any control over my small snail body.

A sudden wave of nausea comes over me, headrush, dizziness. But when I open my eyes, I'm myself again. McGonagall gives us fifty points each... and the exam is over.

That's it.

I'm done at Hogwarts...

"We're all going up to the old divination classroom tonight." Roger Davies says to us when we are all back in the corridor. "Bring something to drink and get ready for a massive party."


	155. Part 5, Chapter 38

After dinner, all of the seventh years went up into the north tower with and up into the teapot-shaped room that used to be used for Divination classes.

"Hey! You made it!" Roger says to me and Emma when he sees us. He's already pretty loaded by the looks of things. "Everyone's got some sort of booze and we're all sharing. And a few of the Hufflepuffs brought some weed so it's going to be a great night."

Emma looks at me with wide eyes, "Hufflepuffs eh? Guess they're a lot less goody two shoes than I thought they would be."

Emma, Walter, Lee, and I all sit in a circle on the floor passing around a joint and a big bottle of elf wine. Someone brought a radio so there's music blasting, people dancing, celebrating.

"If you were in a room with fifty house-elves... do you think you would win in a fight?" Lee asks taking a swig of the wine.

Emma bursts into giggles, "Why would I be in a room with fifty house-elves?"

We all start laughing, "It's just a scenario. Like if some super-rich old, crusty wizard had sent fifty house elves to kill you, do you think you'd survive?" Lee asks, he leans back, putting his hand on the floor behind him looking at all of us.

"Can we use magic or is it just like hands-on fighting?" Walter asks.

Clarissa, Miriam, Miles, Cassius, and Adrian all come over to us and squeeze themselves into our circle, "What are we talking about?" Miles asks.

"Well Lee here, asked us if we think we could fight fifty house elves to the death." Walter says with a little hiccup, "Lee's my boyfriend by the way."

Adrian laughs, "Yeah dude we know. Uhm, are the house-elves allowed to use magic?"

The next two hours or so are spent debating with each other if we actually could win in a fight against fifty house elves, and the drunker we got the funnier it gets. Miriam and Cassius were to busy snogging for us to really get an answer out of them but everyone else is really invested.

Lee giggles, "I never thought this would get so in-depth or whatever, when I asked in my common room everyone just said 'yeah course' and moved on."

"Cause Gryffindors are stupid. All talk no bite." Clarissa says. She points at Lee with a joint in between her fingers, "Course I don't think you are... alright maybe a bit."

Everyone starts giggling again. There's a loud crash behind us and we all turn around. Hufflepuff student, Holly, is now standing on Trelawney's old desk, a half-full bottle of Beetle Berry Whiskey in her hand.

"I have something to say!" She says loudly. Someone turns the music down a bit so we can all hear her.

"Go on then!" Adrian shouts.

Holly sways a little, "I just want to say... that I miss CEDRIC!" She shouts Cedric's name.

Everyone nods, I see the rest of the Hufflepuff house take a really deep drink from their goblets.

"Hufflepuff has been trying to get Dumbledore to give him a portrait in the common room! But given Umbridge..." A chorus of boos comes from everyone in the room cutting her off. She waits for the room to get quiet again, "is now Headmistress! She said no! She said that Cedric did nothing to deserve it!"

"I'll paint him one!" Fiona from Ravenclaw shouts, "I paint a hundred Cedric portraits and put them all over the castle!"

Everyone starts laughing, like a sympathy laugh almost. Holly clears her throat to get everyone's attention. "Cedric should be here right now! Talking and laughing with us! Cause he deserved it! This one is for you Ceddy! I fucking love you, dude!" Everyone cheers again, Holly takes a big swig from her bottle and nearly falls off the desk, thankfully her friends Jennifer and Patricia were there to help her down. Someone turns the music back up and we all go back to our conversations.

"It's pretty fucked you know. A student died and the only thing that Dumbledore did was tell us how he died. He never brought in those... what do you call those people?" Miriam asks.

"Therapists? Like those nurses at Saint Mungo's that help you with your feelings and shit?" Emma asks.

Miriam snaps her fingers and points at Emma a couple of times, "Yes! Those guys. Why didn't Dumbledore bring those guys in so that we can talk about our shit?"

"Cause the only person that Dumbledore cares about is Harry fucking Potter." I say, "If Harry asked for a therapist thing then I'm sure that he would have gotten one."

"FUCK HARRY POTTER!" Everyone in our little circle shouts. Everyone besides Lee.

"I'm gonna miss you, idiots." Miles says looking at us all, "We grew up together, we're family."

The mood shifts, well at least in our small circle. Lee looks sort of awkward but all of us Slytherins just smile at each other.

Clarissa jumps up from the floor and screams, "Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy, Hoggy, Hogwarts!"

We all jump up too, "Teach us something please!" we all scream. Soon everyone in the room is singing the school song,

Whether we be old and bald

Or young with scabby knees!

Our heads could do with filling

With some interesting stuff

For now they're bare and full of fluff

So teach us stuff worth knowing

Bring back what we forgot

Just do your best, we'll do the rest

And learn till our brains all rot!


	156. Part 5, Chapter 39

I get a letter from my Aunt Narcissa the next day.

The war has begun. Lucious is in Azkaban

My heart falls through my chest almost. "Violet? What's wrong?" Emma asks me, looking up from her cereal bowl.

I don't answer her, I just get up and run down the table to where Draco is sitting. He's holding onto an identical slip of parchment as mine. "Come with me Draco," I say putting my hand on his shoulder.

Draco turns to look at me before getting up from the bench and following me out of the great hall. People everywhere are reading the newest copy of the Daily Prophet. I haven't read it but by the look on everyone's faces, and the fact that everyone is watching Draco and I leave the hall I can assume that they've read about Uncle Lucius being thrown into Azkaban.

I pull Draco down a hidden corridor, one that Fred and George showed me years ago. As soon as we are alone Draco starts to sob. Loud, ugly sobs that rack his entire body. "I don't want a war." He says choking on his own breath.

I hold him against me and let him cry into my shirt, "I know darling I know." I coo.

That only makes Draco cry louder, The-y they're g-gonna ma-ake me get the-e Mark aren't they?" He chokes. Draco pulls away and I slick all of his hair out of his face and hold his head in my hands, "I-I don't wan-t i-it any mo-ore."

"Take deep breaths for me, Dray. Come on." I breathe in and out slowly, demonstrating what I want Draco to do. It takes a minute but he slowly starts calming down. "You won't be alone alright? I'll be here with you." I brush tears off of his face with my thumbs, "I'm not going anywhere." I whisper.

Draco takes a big shaky breath, "You've got to get out. Go with Fred and George. I've always liked those two." He says.

I pull him back into my chest, "I'm not going anywhere you hear me?" I cling onto the back of his robes like my life depends on it, "I'm not going anywhere."

Once Draco is fully calmed down again we go back out into the Great Hall. He goes back to sit with his friends and I watch him sit down before I sit down with Emma and Walter. "Is it true? Your uncle is in Azkaban?" Emma whispers.

I nod a few times, "That's what the note from my aunt says. They're going to make Draco get the mark this summer I can feel it."

Walter looks at me, "But isn't he too young? He's only going into his sixth year."

I snatch a copy of the Daily Prophet out of the hands of the girl sitting beside me. She goes to say something but when she realizes that it was me she turns back to her friends. I unfold the paper and read the article on the front page. I put it down on the table so Emma and Walter can both read it. I point at the comment from the minister. "He practically just declared war. Which means that the Dark Lord is going to start recruiting everyone and everything. By the looks of things, he's gotten the Dementors on his side now and I'm pretty sure that he's also got the giants."

Emma looks at me, "So we're fucked?"

I nod, "Yeah, we're fucked."

We both look at Walter who looks like he's going to start to cry. "I don't want to fight against you two." He whispers. "I don't want to have to kill you."

Emma and I reach out across the table and hold onto Walter's hands, "We'll be alright Wally don't worry." I say to him. "This shit doesn't change how we feel about you. You're my best friend."

Emma scoffs, "I thought I was your best friend?"

The three of us laugh, something that I think won't happen again for a very long time. After breakfast, we head back to our common room to grab our things so we can meet the train on time.

"You!" Someone roars behind me. I spin around and Harry Potter is marching right up to me. "Your mother killed him!" He roars.

Confusion, mild panic, "What? Killed who?"

"SIRIUS!" He roars, "Right in front of me! I'll kill her you know. I'll kill her and your entire family if I have to!" Harry pulls out his wand and I pull mine out as well.

"Don't threaten me, little boy." I spit, "Sirius wouldn't want you to avenge his death like this."

Harry points his wand right into my chest, Ron and Hermione grab onto his arms but he pulls away from them, "Like you know what Sirius would have wanted. You're just as bad as she is. Don't act like we don't know. You're one of them."

I swat his wand away from my chest and it clatters to the floor, "Trust me, Harry. You don't ever want to kill someone. It's not all that it's cracked up to be." I look at Ron for a moment, "Tell your brothers I say hello and I miss them dearly. I don't think I'll be able to see them anytime soon."

Harry scrambles for his wand but by then I've already turned around and walked away. Panic, tears, confusion. Sirius is dead? No, he can't be dead. I need him, I needed his help. I can't do this without him. My mother killed him? I want to say that surprises me. My mind goes numb, my body cold. How could Sirius have died? He was good. Pure. Happy.

I walk into the common room and go right into the dorm. I've packed all my things away last night so all I really have to do is drag them outside. Emma, Clarissa, and Miriam are all standing in the middle of the room looking around slowly.

"Hogwarts is my home..." Miriam whispers.

I go over to my bed and lie down on it one last time. I roll over and for the first time in seven years, I notice a little mark on the corner of my bedside table. I hop off my bed and pull it away from the wall so I can get a better look. It's very small but it's there. Burned into the wood is B.B. Bellatrix Black.

I take my wand out and use it to burn my initials into the wood as well. V.L. Who knows, my children might be in this room one day.

"That's a brilliant idea!" Emma says watching me, soon each of the girls are doing the same thing that I just did.

I get up off the floor and go stand by my trunk. "Ready?" I ask the girls.

"No," Clarissa says back to me.

She and Miriam take their things and pull them out of the dorm and into the common room. Fergus comes running in and looks at me like he knows that it's time to leave as well.

"Ready Emma?" I say to her. She's got tears in her eyes and I can tell that she's trying her hardest not to cry.

"There's a war coming." She whispers, "A war that I don't want to fight."

"A war that's not ours to fight," I say softly. "Don't worry, I'll protect you. Promised Fred that I would."

Emma looks at me, "I promised George that I would protect you." We laugh for a moment before picking up our things and walking out of our dorm room for the last time. The room that we've shared for the past seven years. The room that I've felt safest in my entire life. My home.

Walter is waiting for us in the middle of the common room, nearly all the other students have already left. All but the seventh years.

"I guess this is it," Adrian says to us all. I look around at the common room, flashes of memories come back to me. Sneaking Fred, George, and Lee in here during Christmas, Helping Draco study. Whispering about drama with my friends. My heart feels like its ripping in half.

"It's not it... We still have our memories, still have each other." I whisper. Everyone nods in agreement.

"You know, I was really terrified to be sorted into Slytherin. Now I don't know what I would have done without all of you idiots in my life." Walter says. I laugh, Miriam wipes a few tears out of her eyes and Cassius wraps his arm around her shoulders and holds her against him.

"Keep in touch yeah? All of you. Write to me." Miles says.

As a group, the eight of us walk out of the common room and down the corridors of Hogwarts. We stop just in front of the big doors. "I'm going to miss this place," Emma whispers.

We look around the entrance hall. The grand staircase moving around above us, the smell of roast chicken still lingering in the air from last night's feast. I don't want to leave. This stupid castle is where I met all my friends, met the love of my life. I had epic highs and lows in these halls. I never want to say goodbye.

Adrian clears his throat and we all start walking out of the doors and down the path into the carriages. I watch the castle till I can't see it anymore, I look over the lake and smile at the memory of George helping me into the boat on our first day here. Who would have thought that the little, dingy looking, skinny redhead that I met on the train would be such a big part of my life seven years later.

On the platform we exchange hugs with everyone, tears swelling in each of our eyes. Emma, Walter, and I walk further down the platform and we load our stuff into the car that we normally all sit in. Lee is waiting for us in the compartment. It's a lot roomier in here with two less bodies. I sort of wish that Fred and George were here to say goodbye too but I know that they are off doing what they love.

"Can't believe it's over," Lee says once we are all settled in. "I can't believe that the next time I will ever be on platform 9 ¾ is when I'm dropping off my kids for Hogwarts."

"Our kids," Walter says kissing Lee's temple.

"I mean, you've got to get on the platform once the trains pulls in. How else do you expect to get off hmm?" Emma says poking holes in Lee's logic.

"Oh fuck off Em." He says laughing.

The train starts to pull away, I stare out the window, with a sad smile on my face. It sucks to leave but I'm bringing new friends and loads of memories away with me. One the train picks up enough speed, the outside world looks like one big blur. I focus my attention back on my friends. We start talking about the memories we've made. Rehashing late night adventures and whatnot. I have a sinking feeling that this is going to be the last time in a long time that I'll have a reason to laugh, that I'll have a reason to smile even. The war is coming and I don't want to be apart of it.


	157. Part 6, Chapter 1

As soon as I stepped off of the train my arm practically lit into flames. I dropped Fergus out of my arms and tried to stifle my scream. Emma appears to be in the same amount of pain as I am. I can hear a scream from farther down the track and I figure that it's coming from one of my friends with the Mark.

"What's happening?" Walter and Lee say to us at the same time.

I close my eyes tight and scrunch up my face, "It's him... He wants us." I groan.

Emma grabs all of her things and apparates away without saying anything to anyone. I look at where Emma was standing then at Lee and Walter. "I've gotta go too. Walter, can you tell Draco to just head home without me?"

People start screaming, I look down the platform and black pillars of smoke shoot into the sky in every which way. Draco comes running over to me, dragging his trunk behind him which is knocking into people's ankles. "What's going on?" Draco says, looking at me with fear in his eyes.

"Haven't got a clue but let's go." I smile at Lee and Walter, they back up away from me so I can do my thing. I pick up Fergus in one hand, grab onto my trunk with the other. Draco holds onto my shoulder tightly.

In an instant, we are in my bedroom at the Malfoy Manor. Fergus hops out of my arms and looks at me annoyed. I drop all my things and race down the stairs, Draco following right at my heels. People are appearing all over my house, both familiar and unfamiliar faces.

"Violet, what's going on?" Draco whispers to me.

I shrug my shoulders, grab onto his hand, and we walk into the dining room together. There's got to be a hundred people here of all ages and backgrounds. The Dark Lord is sitting at the head of the table as usual. My mother is standing beside him laughing like a child. Aunt Narcissa is sitting at the table, right beside the Dark Lord pretty much. She waves Draco and me over.

"Come now children, sit here." She says to us when we get close to her. She's lost some of her beauty, her hair is a mess, her eyes are sunken in and she's got dark circles under her eyes.

Draco sits beside his mother and I sit beside him, "So it's true?" Draco says in a hushed tone, "Father is..."

Aunt Narcissa gulps, "Yes Draco. And the Dark Lord has decided that you must get the Mark... He's very upset with your father and this will make things right again."

Aunt Narcissa puts her hand on Draco's but he pulls away. He looks into his lap for a minute then looks at me, scared out of his mind.

"First matter of business!" The Dark Lord says coldly. His raspy voice booming over the quiet chatter of the room. As soon as he speaks, the room goes silent. To the point that you could drop a pin and have it be heard throughout the entire room. "Draco Malfoy, your father is a weak, disgrace of a man. Let us hope that you have more of your mother's blood than your fathers."

Draco flinches with every word that comes out of the Dark Lord's mouth. His eyes are shut tight, his bottom lip quivering in fear. The Dark Lord stands from his seat, people around him move so he has a clear pathway to the middle of the room. "Come Draco."

Draco looks at me, begging for help. I put my hand on his shoulder and squeeze tight, "Don't keep him waiting, he'll hurt you." I whisper. I start to get pinpricks in my eyes from holding back my tears.

Draco's chair scrapes against the floor as he gets up. His footsteps echo throughout the dining room. People move out of his way so he's able to get the Dark Lord with ease. Every step he takes my heart rate goes faster, poor George is probably freaking out that his ring is pulsing so fast.

When Draco gets in front of the Dark Lord he looks like he's going to vomit. He bows to the Dark Lord and pulls up the sleeve on his wand arm. The Dark Lord raises his wand high in the air and everyone seems to breathe in at the same time. Then he does just as he did to me last year. His wand hits Draco's forearm and it doesn't take a genius to see that Draco is doing everything in his power to stop himself from screaming. Involuntary tears stream down my face and I don't bother wiping them away. I look over at Aunt Narcissa, she's looking at her own hands instead of Draco. It pisses me off. Her son is in the worst pain of his life and she can't be bothered to watch.

Once it is over everyone claps politely. Draco pulls his sleeve back down and comes back over to me and his mother. As soon as he sits down he grabs ahold of my hand under the table. I look over at him and try to apologize with my eyes. It feels like I've failed him. I couldn't protect him from this.

The Dark Lord sits back down at his spot at the head of the table. My mother instantly puts her hand on his shoulder and smiles. Her teeth are better than they were at Easter. As if she's got herself a whole new set. Her hair is also brushed and healthier by the looks of things. Her wild curls are tamed and they fall beautifully around her face. It's scary, we look more alike than we ever did.

"Now. The Ministry for Magic has essentially declared war on us. But the Minister has no idea how big we have become over the past year." The Dark Lord says loudly. "I will be sending groups of you out, to wreak havoc on both the muggle world and the wizarding world."

The room breaks out into chatter, a hundred excited voices fill the room. The Dark Lord sends red sparks out of his wand and everyone instantly goes silent. "There will be no deaths other than the ones that I allow. If I find out that you have killed someone without my permission I will kill you." The Dark Lord continues. "If you see an Order member, it is your duty to bring them back to this Manor alive so we can get rid of them together in a public setting." The Dark Lord pauses and looks directly at me, "Finally. If I find, that one of you has a relationship of any kind with a member of the Order. You will be killed, no second chances. This is war."

George. My heart rate gets faster, my brain fogs over, the only thing I can think of is George fucking Weasley. The love of my life.

I think I blackout or something because next thing I know, Draco is pulling on my arm to get me to stand up and leave the table. Draco and I walk upstairs in silence, but as soon as my door is closed and I put on the very hand sound sealing charm that I was using all last year, He bursts into tears.

I don't touch him for a minute. He leans his back onto my door and shrinks down into a ball on my floor, holding his knees to his chin. George can wait. I sit down cross-legged in front of Draco and pull his hands away from his face and hold them in my own. I don't say anything. I don't try to talk him down. I let him cry. He deserves to cry. He deserves the world.

"I kissed Harry Potter." He says in a gasp of air.

Not what I thought he was going to say. "When?"

Draco looks up at me, his eyes red and puffy, "Same night Trelawney got sacked. He had detention or something that day and was coming out of Umbridge's office. I stopped him, asked if he was alright. We started yelling at each other and walking closer to each other. Then I grabbed his face and kissed him. His glasses got in the way."

My brain feels like its restarting or something, this is not the conversation I thought I would be having, "Did he kiss you back?"

"Yes."

"Did you like it."

"Yeah..."

"Did it happen again?"

Draco looks at me, his cheeks are still stained with his tears, his eyes are still watery, but he smiles a bit. "Yeah... later that night we saw each other in the halls and we yelled at each other again... about the kiss, and we ended up kissing again."

I smile, "Look at you go Dray..."

His smile falters, "what if the Dark Lord finds out..." He whispers. Ah, that's how all this ties together.

"You're kidding me, right? Draco I've been dating George for what... five years or something now? I fully snuck off to see him a few times last year when I was here."

Draco sniffs his nose, "Are you going to break up with him?"

"I don't have much of a choice do I?"


	158. Part 6, Chapter 2

Draco stays the night in my room with me, and once he's asleep I sneak out of my bed and go over to my desk. "Lumos" I whisper. The tip of my wand lights up. I pull out ink and the quill that George gave me. It's late so I don't really expect a response but I have to try.

YOU AROUND?

I roll my neck and it cracks a few times. I stand from my desk and open my window slightly, it's raining out so the air is cold on my skin. The pulsing in the ring that George gave me is steady. It calms me down.

ALWAYS.

I look down at my arm and smile. I go back to my desk, dip my quill in the ink and write back to him.

IT'S TIME G. WE CAN'T SEE EACH OTHER ANYMORE.

My heart shatters as soon as the ink seeps into my skin. Instantly the pulse in my ring picks up in pace and I can assume that the ring on his finger is the same. It's not like we didn't know it was happening. Yeah sure Violet, keep telling yourself that.

PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE JOKING

God. I can hear him as I read his message. I can hear his voice crack, see his eyes well up with tears. I start to get panicky and tears start flowing out of my eyes again.

IF I SEE YOU AGAIN HE'LL KILL ME. KILL MY FAMILY... HE'LL KILL YOU

I start pacing back and forth in front of my bed. I skip the middle floorboard though. It creaks and I don't want to wake up Draco.... God Draco. He's terrified, going back to Hogwarts this year. I want to be with him. Live in Hogsmeade... but with the war, the fact that I'm a Death Eater now. I don't think it's going to be possible.

YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE SHOP YET. WE HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO SAY GOODBYE

I sit down at my desk and put my head in my hands and blink my tears away. I take a deep breath and calm myself down.

THIS IS GOODBYE

My entire body aches, I feel like I'm going to be sick.

SAY YOU LOVE ME

That does it, I can't hold my tears in anymore. I clap my hand over my mouth to try not to make too much noise. Draco stirs in the bed and I turn around to look at him. My vision is blurry with tears.

GEORGE...WE HAVE TO BREAK UP.

I close my eyes and the memory of our first real fight floods my mind. He just attacked Draco, we were screaming at each other in the halls. Then the kiss. Oh god, that kiss.

SAY IT ANYWAYS

In the quidditch tent after his game. He's sweaty and gross. I go in to congratulate him. We almost kiss, then Oliver Wood comes in and kicks me out. Butterflies erupt in my stomach

I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU

Our first late-night experience. Sneaking out of our dorms using his fucking map. Hiding in the bushes on the edge of the lake, getting poison oak all over ourselves. George diving into the lake, I actually turn around so I don't see him shirtless, oh how the times have changed.

FUCKING SAY IT VIOLET

Sneaking out of my common room with him, walking through the secret Hogwarts corridors. Seeing Charlie, looking at dragons. I can still feel his loving gaze on the back of my head. Then in the dark, he teases me for the first time, doesn't kiss me when I ask him to. Says that he asked Bill for tips. The fucking dumbass.

I LOVE YOU GEORGE

I can feel his arms around me, smell his scent, spearmint toothpaste, cinnamon, freshly baked cookies, campfire, old spice deodorant. I can taste his lips on mine, feel his breath on my neck.

YOU WON'T TAKE OFF OUR RING RIGHT? I NEED TO KNOW THAT YOU'RE STILL ALIVE

The day he gave me the stupid fucking ring. The months it took for him to get the rings perfect. That god awful tea shop. I will never be able to interrupt him mid-sentence ever again.

COURSE NOT. DON'T TAKE YOURS OFF EITHER. I NEED TO KNOW YOU'RE ALIVE

I'm not just losing George. I'm losing Fred. One of my best friends for years. The person that I went to with things that I couldn't take anywhere else. The person that forced me to tell George how I really felt all those years ago. I owe him everything. I'm losing Ginny. A strong, feisty, powerful young witch that one is. She stood up for me when everyone was treating me so poorly when my mother got out of Azkaban. I'll never see her on the Holly Head Harpies. Ron, Bill, Charlie, Arthur, Molly. Oh god, Molly. The mother I always wanted but never got. Sitting on her couch looking at old baby photos, telling her my story. I love that woman.

I LOVE YOU VIOLET. I DON'T THINK I'LL EVER STOP LOVING YOU

Right here, right now, I don't see a point. There's no reason that we can't be together. I'll run away, abandon everything... Draco snores cut through my thoughts. He's the point. I've got to stay for him.

I LOVE YOU TOO GEORGE WEASLEY. I'LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU

Then.

GOODBYE GEORGE.

I snap the quill in half, breaking the bond between the two of them, he can never write to me again and I him. I pick my wand up from the desk and flick it so the light on its tip goes out. I put the broken quill on my windowsill, take a deep breath, point my wand at it, "evanesco' I whisper. The quill vanishes instantly.

I crawl back into my bed beside Draco and pull the covers up to my chin. Draco rolls over so he's facing me and opens his eyes. "What happened?" He whispers.

"Just broke up with George," I whisper back to him.

We lie there in silence for a long time. I can hear voices downstairs so I know that at least two people are still awake, "I'm sorry." Draco whispers.

I nod, "Yeah, me too." I say back to him before I roll away from him. I stare at my open window, the soft sound of the rain hitting the roof is the only thing I can hear besides Draco's heavy breathing. I want to reverse the clock, I want to go back in time. What I would do for a time-turner right now. I want him, I want him back. The love of my life, my George Weasley.


	159. Part 6, Chapter 3

It's been about a week or so since I broke up with George. It's hard to keep track of time and days recently. Every day I go to long Death Eater meetings, listening to ideas, helping with the plans to take down the Order and muggles in general. Then after the meetings are done Draco and I meet with my mother for Occlumency lessons which are tiresome and very painful. But my mother insists that it is a skill that every Death Eater needs to learn. Then finally, Draco and I tend to lock ourselves in my room and play exploding snap, or gobstones, or I help him go through my notes from sixth year to help him with his NEWT levels.

"Are you going to come with me to Diagon Alley when I have to get my school stuff this year?" Draco asks me as he sits on my floor and sorts through my old notes.

I'm lying on my bed reading a book when he asks, I look down at him, "Dunno dude. I mean if you want me to come then yeah I will."

Draco keeps sorting through my notes, "I'm planning on picking up a skiving snack box when I'm out. Do you know anywhere I could find one of those?" He doesn't look up at me when he asks.

"Draco... You know I can't go in there." I say to him.

"I know that you can't be seen fraternizing with the Order. But if it's just a store, that he happens to be at... it wouldn't be so bad if you just said goodbye would it?" Draco looks up at me with a small smile on his face, "Course I don't want you to go, given their nasty, dirty, blood traitors and everything."

I toss the pillow I've been using to prop myself up at him, "At least I'm not the one in love with a half-blood. What would your parents think?"

Draco stops what he's doing and stares at me, "I am not in love with him!" He says sternly.

I put my hands up in the air and bow my head, "Oh no course you're not, you've just been talking about him for years."

Draco throws the pillow back and me and we both laugh, there's a knock on my door and instantly our little bubble pop. I sit up in bed and wave my hand in the air to get rid of the sound sealing charm, "Come in!"

Aunt Narcissa comes into the room and closes the door behind her, "Violet, they need you downstairs. A group of Death Eaters are leaving for the muggle world and the Dark Lord wants you apart of it."

I swing my legs off my bed and sit there looking at her, "Alright. I'll get dressed and be right down."

Aunt Narcissa nods. She looks at Draco sadly but he doesn't look up at her. She sighs and heads back out of the room. I get up from my bed and walk into my closet. "You've got to at least talk to her Draco," I say referencing his now very rocky relationship with his mother.

"Alright. I'll talk to my mother when you talk to yours." Draco snaps.

I peer out of my closet at Draco. He's stopped looking through scrolls of parchment and is now just lying face down on my floor. "That's different," I grumble. I put on a grey cashmere sweater and some black jeans and walk out of my closet.

"Oh yeah? How is it different. Please elaborate."

I pull a pair of black boots out from under my bed and put them on, "It's just... yeah alright it's the exact same." I brush the cat hair off of my pants and look at Draco. "You can stay in here if you want. I'll probably be back in a couple of hours."

"Unless you die," Draco says sitting back up.

"I'm not going to die."

"You could."

Draco and I look at each other, "I'll be back soon." I ruffle the hair on the top of his head before I leave my room. As soon as I do I can hear what sounds like hundreds of excited voices. I walk down the staircase, through the foyer, through the kitchen where Norby is panicking and into the dining room.

"Violet. Come now, my child." The Dark Lord says when he sees me.

I walk through the big crowd and go to his side. My mother is standing right beside him smiling. I bow my head to him and my mother claps her hands together, "Such a good girl you are Violet." My mother squeals.

The Dark Lord stands from his seat, "The time has come! You will all go to downtown London and take down the Millenium Bridge. There should be no survivors."

The room breaks into cheers and applause. I walk away from the Dark Lord and mix myself in with the rest of the crowd. "Hey..." Someone whispers in my ear.

I turn to my left and smile. Emma is standing beside me, in a black cloak with the Death Eater mask resting on the top of her head, "Hey!" I say happily. She passes me a black cloak and a mask and I pull it on over the top of my clothes.

"How is George taking all this?" Emma whispers. People around us are still cheering and clapping, everyone hyping each other up for the big attack.

"Dunno. I broke up with him last week." I whisper back. I put the mask on and pull it up to the top of my head so I can still have a conversation with Emma.

Emma takes my hand in hers and squeezes it, "You did?"

"He was going to kill me if I didn't. Didn't have too much of a choice."

People around us start to apparate off to the bridge. Emma and I look at each other once more before pulling our masks over our faces and joining the rest of the Dark Lord's army.

By the time I land in downtown London, it's already chaos. Muggles are screaming everywhere I look. Groups of Death Eaters are marching down the streets while others are popping up all over the place.

"LeStrange! Get a move on!" Someone shouts behind me.

I shake myself out of the initial shock of it all and force my way through the crowd, my wand in my hand. I follow the Death Eaters onto the middle of the Bridge. Muggles are getting out of their cars screaming. I grab onto the back of one of their shirts and pull them backwards.

"I'm sorry," I whisper before blasting them off the bridge. They land in the water below with a splash and I hope to god they are a good swimmer. Death Eaters all around me are throwing muggles left, right, and center. I can't even tell if they are people I know with these stupid masks on.

When I get to the middle of the bridge I fall in line behind a few other Death Eaters. The Dark Lord wants us to collapse the bridge, and he won't be happy if we can't complete our mission.

"On three!" Someone at the front of the pack shouts. Muggles scream.

My head starts to spin, my heartbeat quickens. I tighten my grip on my wand. I can feel George's heartbeat through the ring on my finger. If I close my eyes I can almost see him, hear his voice 'it's alright. You're safe with me.'

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

Every wizard on the bridge points their wand at the concrete under their feet, "REDUCTO!" We all scream at the same time. The bridge below us snaps cleanly in half and the next thing I know I'm falling towards the freezing cold water below me. Before I hit the water I apparate, landing back in my dining room at the Malfoy Manor. The Dark Lord is sitting there smiling.

"Well?" He says to me.

I spin around the room, a few other Death Eaters have just landed, each of them have a muggle with them. They're screaming, no doubt because they just caught a glimpse of the Dark Lord. I imagine he's quite scary looking if your not used to wizarding folk.

"The bridge has collapsed my Lord. I am unaware of a death toll at the moment." I say looking back at the Dark Lord and my mother.

My mother comes running over to me and pulls me into a big hug, "I knew you could do it my little Violet flower!" She says laughing, "Making your parents very proud of you!"

That's when I realize, I haven't seen my father the entire time I've been back at the Manor. I look at my mother, "Where is father?" I ask her.

Her smile instantly fades off of her face and her eyes go dark, "A weak man that Rodolphus. He was tossed back into Azkaban along with that waste Lucius. Both of them should have DIED!" She spins around and goes back to the Dark Lord's side, "The Dark Lord is the only father you need dear Violet." She says her smile back on her lips.

A few Death Eaters push past me, their muggle captures screaming, crying, begging for their lives. They toss them into the office which as apparently been transformed into a sort of holding cell for people that the Dark Lord wishes to kill at a later date.

With the Dark Lord distracted I sneak off back upstairs into my room. Draco is pacing back and forth. Fergus is lying on my bed watching him. "Hey, dude," I say.

Draco spins around and looks at me, "oh thank god." He says before coming over to me and hugging me tightly.

"Told you I wasn't going to die."


	160. Part 6, Chapter 4

"Violet, we are sending you to Diagon Alley with a smaller group. You must bring me back Ollivander. Alive." The Dark Lord says to me. It's been about a month since the bridge attack. We've done an attack nearly every other day at this point. Killing muggles in public, attacking storefronts in both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. I've been kept out of the attacks on Diagon Alley, till today apparently.

"Thank you, my Lord, but may I ask why me?" I look at the Dark Lord from across the table. My mother and him are sitting side by side.

The Dark Lord looks at my mother before answering my question, "We believe that you will be the perfect distraction. Young enough to look as though you are simply out shopping. And because you just left Hogwarts no one will suspect you are one of us." The Dark Lord explains slowly.

"You want this Violet. I want this for you. Show the Dark Lord your power." My mother says.

I nod a couple of times, "Thank you, my Lord. I will not let you down." Pause, "When is this happening?"

"Today. Once A few others show up then you're leaving." He says coldly.

In less than five minutes, everyone that was in my year at Hogwarts is in my dining room. Cassius, Miriam, Emma, Miles, Adrian, Graham, even Henrietta which is surprising 'cause I haven't seen her since the riot at the World Cup.

"Bring back Ollivander alive. Or you'll all be killed." The Dark Lord says to us, "Head off now."

As soon as the word 'now' leaves the Dark Lord's mouth I close my eyes. When I open them again I'm in Diagon Alley. "Not really the reunion I wanted," Cassius grumbles.

"So what's the plan LeStrange?" Adrian asks me. Everyone turns to look at me for direction.

"Why me? I'm just as lost as you are?"

Clarissa rolls her eyes, "You're the smartest one out of all of us. Tell us what to do and we'll do it."

I think carefully for a moment before I say anything. A few scared-looking witches pass by us in a hurry. What once was a loud, colourful, happy place is now dark and essentially abandoned. There's rather loud music coming from further down the street but besides that, there's no real noise at all.

"We can use human transfiguration, turn him into a wand box or something then we can walk out without anyone second-guessing us. Emma and I can go into the shop, say that something is wrong with one of our wands and that we want it looked at. Cassius, Miles, and Henrietta will stand outside, making sure that no one else comes in. Clarissa if someone does see something it's your job to obliviate them. Adrian, Graham, and Miriam. I need you three to circle around to the back of the shop and make sure that no one else is inside. If they are, you're in charge of getting rid of them. I don't want anyone dead or else it will bring attention to us." I explain.

Everyone nods and we split up, people moving into the positions that I told them to be in. "You suppose the noise is coming from the twin's shop?" Emma asks me. We are walking with linked arms down the cobblestone street, trying to look as if we belong.

I shrug, "Dunno. But I don't want to go over and see in case someone decides to snitch on us." I say to her. We turn the corner. The music gets louder and louder with every step we take. Just like Emma thought, the only store that has people inside it and the candles in its windows is the newest store in the alley, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

Emma and I walk past the very bright windows and take a sharp left towards Ollivanders wand shop. I can hear a door open behind us. "Violet? Emma?" Fred. My heart nearly pops out of my chest. Emma tightens her grip on my arm.

I look over my shoulder. He's wearing god awful magenta coloured robed that clash horribly with his hair. He's looking at us like he's just been hit in the stomach. "You never saw us alright?" I say to him. Emma and I slow our pace so that we can sort of have a conversation with him. He walks behind us at a distance.

"Are you two alright? Violet George hasn't been himself since you broke up with him. Don't you think he deserves..."

"He deserves to keep his life, Fred. We can't be seen talking to you. Go back to your shop." Emma snaps. She pulls on my arm and we start walking fast again.

I turn around and look at him once more, he's standing outside his shop looking defeated. I can just make out George's red head of hair inside the shop talking to a customer. Emma has to pull on my arm again to get me to look away.

"You did it for a reason, Violet. You have to protect him." She whispers.

We get to Ollivanders and Emma and I walk in the doors. It looks like nothing has changed. The store is still dusty, dark, and smells like fresh woodchips. We go up to the front desk and ring the service bell.

"Yes right! One second please." A voice calls from the back. There's a dull crash and Mister Ollivander himself comes out from the many shelves. "Ah! Miss LeStrange! Miss Fay! I remember you both well." Ollivander looks at me and smiles, "Yew wood with a phoenix feather core. Thirteen inches, slightly springy flexibility." I nod a couple of times. He turns to Emma, "Pearwood with a unicorn hair core. Nine inches, brittle flexibility."

Emma nods and smiles at Ollivander, "I've been having a problem with my wand recently actually. I fear that the unicorn hair has died and needs to be replaced." Emma places her wand on the counter carefully and Ollivander snatches it up.

He stares at it for a long while, from all angles, whipping it around in the air a few times. While he's distracted, I take my wand out of my coat carefully. In one swift movement, I flick my wand upwards, pointed right at Ollivander. He gasps, drops Emma's wand and sinks down behind the counter. Emma looks at me. Neither of us moves for a moment. Then I walk past her and around to the back of the counter. On the floor beside Emma's wand is a perfectly clean wand box, that was once Ollivander himself.

I pick up the box and put it in my pocket, I then pick up Emma's wand and pass it to her over the counter. I point my wand at the back door of the store and flick my wrist. The door swings open and Adrian, Graham, and Miriam come walking through.

"Lock the door behind you all. We can't leave a trace." I say to them. Miriam nods and I can hear the click of the lock on the door. We all walk back around to the side of the counter that Emma is at and we walk out together.

"Did it work?" Clarissa whispers to us as we pass her. I nod a couple of times and she apparates away. One by one they all walk in different directions for a moment before apparating back to the Malfoy Manor leaving Emma and me alone on the cobblestone streets. We thought it would draw less attention to ourselves if we continue to walk down the street and towards another shop. Just two girls on a day out sort of thing.

"Violet!" George. Are you fucking kidding me?

I look up and George is standing outside of his shop, it doesn't look like he's been sleeping, or eating for that matter. He looks skinnier than he's ever looked.

"We don't want any joke products thanks." Emma snaps.

I look at him and my heart breaks, "Sorry Mister Weasley, we have very important business to attend to. A life or death situation if you will." I say coldly to him. Emma and I walk past him, I don't break eye contact till I don't have a choice. Once we pass him Emma apparates the both of us back to the Manor.

Everyone is sitting at the dining table waiting for us. The Dark Lord and my mother are both watching me with intensity. Emma lets go of me and sits down at the table, "Well? Where is he?" The Dark Lord asks with a sense of urgency.

I pull the wand box out of my pocket and place it in front of him on the floor. Pulling out my wand, I mutter the counter curse and the wand box transforms into Ollivander. He scrambles up onto his feet and spins around.

My mother starts laughing. Big, booming, "HAHAHAHAHA!" She jumps from her seat and comes over to me, she kisses both of my cheeks and spins me around in celebration.

The Dark Lord looks very pleased with my handiwork. He snaps his fingers and Death Eaters that I didn't even realize were here come out of the shadows and drag Mister Ollivander out of the room. The poor old man is blubbering nonsense as his mind tries to catch up with what happened.

"Narcissa was right about you Violet. You are a natural leader." The Dark Lord says. He looks at my friends who are sitting at the table, "You all follow Violet without question yes?"

They look amongst each other before Adrian starts to speak, "Yes my Lord. Violet was top of our class at Hogwarts nearly every year and was one of the most popular students."

The Dark Lord looks at me, "By the sound of things you might be giving your mother a run for her money." He says looking between my mother and me.

My mother snaps her attention to me, she looks mad, more than mad. Completely enraged. And for the first time all summer I feel a sense of pride in my actions.


	161. Part 6, Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ***CONTAINS SMUT 18+***

"I'm not a child, in case you haven't noticed mother. Violet and I could have come to get my shopping done by ourselves." Draco says as the witch in Madam Malkin's robe shop fits him with a stunning set of dark green robes. I sit in front of him sipping on a cup of tea sniggering at the whole thing. Draco pulls a face at me when his mother isn't looking.

"Now dear, your mother's quite right, none of us should be wandering around by ourselves these days. Especially not two gorgeous young wizards like yourselves." She says looking between Draco and me.

I roll my eyes and put my cup of tea down on the table beside me. I get up from my chair and start to walk around the store aimlessly. It's strange not being fitting for new robes for Hogwarts. I turn a corner and I find myself face to face with Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger.

"Alright, you three?" I say to them with a small smile on my lips.

"Alright, yourself?" Ron asks sort of sinking behind his friends.

I nod, "Been better. Please tell Molly I say hello. I miss you all so much."

Ron shuffles his feet a bit, "Don't suppose George would want to hear that one." He says quietly.

My smile falters, "Suppose not." I say before I busy myself with a row of dark robes.

"Watch where you're sticking that pin!" Draco shouts. Harry, Ron, and Hermione round the corner that Draco is down. "If you're wondering what that smell is, mother. A mud-blood just walked in."

Course he just had to open his fucking mouth. I pull my wand out of my hair and hold it against my hip underneath my cloak just in case I have to use it. I turn the corner just as Madam Malkin speaks, "I don't think there is any need for language like that!" I agree, "And I don't want wands drawn in my shop either!"

I look at Harry and Ron, both of them have their wands pointed at Draco. I swear one move on their part and I'll kill them.

"No don't, honestly. It's not worth it." I can hear Hermione whisper. I push through the three of them rather harshly, making Hermione stumble into Ron. I stand beside Draco and turn to look at the three of them.

"Yeah like you'd dare to do magic out of school." Draco sneers. "Who blacked your eye, Granger? I want to send them flowers." I laugh but cover it with a cough. Draco's a lot of things but you can't deny that he's not funny.

Madam Malkin doesn't share my beliefs, "That's quite enough! Madam... please?" She calls for my aunt like she's going to be able to do anything.

Aunt Narcissa comes floating over to us from the other side of the shop. She looks at Harry and Ron and chuckles to herself a bit, "Put those away." Her voice is like ice, "If you attack my son again, I shall ensure that it is the last thing you do." She looks at me and nods. I pull my wand out from under my cloak and twirl it between my fingers, staring at the three of them.

Harry notices that my wand is out and he takes a deep breath. He steps closer to my aunt and I put myself between them slightly. I am taller than both of them by quite a bit. Harry has to stand on his tiptoes to look over my shoulder and at my aunt's face, "Really? He says far to confidently for someone who only knows one spell, "Going to get a few Death Eater pals to do us in, are you? Or is that what Violet's for?"

Instantly anger bubbles up inside me. I stop playing with my wand and I establish a firm grip on it. Madam Malkin gasps, "Really, you shouldn't accuse- dangerous thing to say- wands away please!" She cries.

But no one listens. I raise my wand higher. Hermione apparently is the only one who remembers what exactly I can do with a flick of my wrist because she immediately gets uncomfortable. "I see that being Dumbledore's favourite has given you a false sense of security Harry Potter. But Dumbledore won't always be there to protect you." My aunt says very threateningly.

Harry looked around the shop with a stupid look on his face, I raise my wand higher and trace his movements with the tip of my wand, tracking him in case I actually have to use some sort of magic. "Wow... Look at that... He's not here now!" Harry says, his words swimming in sarcasm, "So why not have a go? They might be able to find you a double cell in Azkaban with your loser of a husband."

That does it, I flick my wrist towards Harry's shoes and blow a small hole in the floor right in front of his feet. The three Gryffindor students stumble back a bit, "That was a warning shot. I suggest you keep my family's name out of your mouth Potter." I spit.

"Enough Violet!" Aunt Narcissa says, she grabs ahold of my wand shoulder in attempts to restrain me. "I expect Potter will be reunited with dear old Sirius before I am reunited with Lucius."

That hurt me a little. The thought of my dear cousin dead sends a flicker of guilt through my body. It hurt Harry too. He stands straighter, holds his wand higher. Hermione put her hand on his shoulder, "Harry no." She says to him, "Think... you mustn't... you'll be in such trouble... remember what Violet did to George?" She whispers the last part as she looks at me with intensity.

I tilt my head and smile at the boy, "Listen to your friend Potter. You don't want to duel me." I put as much bite and aggressiveness in my words as I can muster.

Madam Malkin goes back to fiddling with Draco's robes. Harry still has his wand pointed at my aunt but his arm is shaking a little. I've got my wand pointed right at his chest, my mind clear of everything but protecting my family.

"Ouch!" Draco shouts, he slaps Madam Malkin's hand away from him, "Watch where you're putting your pins! Mother, I don't think I want these anymore."

I don't look away from the three Gryffindors in front of me, "You're right Draco." My aunt says, "Now I know the kind of scum that shops here... we'll do better at Twilfitt and Tattings's" Aunt Narcissa steps around me and out of the shop. Draco hops off the pedestal and shoves past Harry and Hermione. He makes sure to slam his shoulder into Ron as hard as he can when he passes.

"Well really!" Madam Malkin gasps.

I flick my wrist towards the small hole in the floor that I've made and it mends itself, "Sorry about your floor Madam Malkin. Thank you for your time." I put a galleon on the table and walk out of the shop.

"Auntie? I'm going to go into Flourish and Blotts for a moment, I've been meaning to pick up another book to read." I say to my aunt as she and Draco march down the street.

Aunt Narcissa turns around and smiles, "Course darling, do you have any money?" I nod and she nods back, "Alright we will meet up later. "And well done in there Violet. You really proved where your loyalties lie."

I nod and smile before I pull the big hood of my velvet green cloak over my head and walk in the opposite direction. I step into Flourish and Blotts and pretty much buy the first book I see that I don't already own so I have something to show my aunt. Then I take a deep breath, calm my nerves, and walk out of the store, down the street, and into Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

Children are running everywhere, fireworks are shooting around my head. Laughter, music, smiles. It smells like roasted nuts and popcorn almost. I keep my hood on and slowly move around the shop. I stand in front of a display for Leaky Cauldrons and smile.

"S'cuse me? Can I help you with anything?"

I turn around and there's a young witch in the same magenta coloured robes that I saw Fred and George in the day we took Ollivander. I smile, "Yes actually, I have a few questions about the leaky cauldrons. Do you mind bringing me uhh, George Weasley?"

The witch nods and smiles and heads off through the store. I look around and I spot the small army of redheads known as the Weasley family working their way through the store. Harry isn't with them but Ron and Hermione are. I hide my face before they could spot me, really not trying to draw any attention to myself.

"You have a few questions about the Leaky Cauldrons I hear?" George's voice comes from behind me. My heart melts, butterflies erupt in my stomach, my heart beats faster and I know that George can feel it.

"Yes," I say in a whisper almost. The ring on my hand starts pulsing rapidly, "I'm trying to pull a prank on my cousin. Do you have any recommendations?" I turn around slowly and look at George. I smile and bite on my bottom lip.

George looks absolutely flustered, his face as red as the hair on the top of his head. He smiles at me and all I want to do is throw myself on top of him, "Oh yes! We have a whole line of practical joke products that have not been put on the shelves quite yet. Follow me." He wraps one of his fingers around mine so you'll really have to look hard to see that we are touching and he leads me into the back of the shop through a door that says 'Employee's Only: Dragon Sleeping Inside'

As soon as the door is closed he pulls the hood off of my head and kisses me on the lips. It feels as if one of the fireworks goes off inside me. I grab onto him and pull him into me with so much force that he nearly loses his balance. He pulls away from me, out of breath. His eyes are wide, his mouth in a permanent smile, "What are you... How did you... Hi..." he plants kisses all over my face which makes me laugh.

"My aunt took Draco shopping for his Hogwarts things. I tagged along. Told them I went to Flourish and Blotts."

George puts both his hands on my cheeks and kisses my forehead for a long time, "God I love you." He mutters.

I put my hand on the back of his neck and pull his lips onto mine. I snog him like my life depends on it till I have to pull away for air again, "I need you to know. I didn't break up with you because I don't love you anymore..."

George kisses me again cutting me off mid-sentence, "I know baby. You have to protect yourself."

"I have to protect you."

George kisses me again, he picks me up and I wrap my legs around his waist. He walks us over to a big stack of boxes deeper in the room and sits me on top of them. I moan into his lips and George smiles. I pull away once again and look at him, "We can't do this." I whisper.

George's smile never leaves his face, "No we can't"

"It'll be too hard, we've broken up." I put my hands in his hair and pull on it a little. He tosses his head back and breathes out hard.

"You should probably get back to your aunt." He huffs, but his hands never leave my body.

I lean forward and kiss and suck on his neck. George lets out a breathy laugh. After I know that I've left a mark I stop and look at him. His eyes are dark, his cheeks are bright red. He's looking at me with that Weasley smirk that makes me melt every time I see it. "You know." He says smacking his lips a bit, "We never got to say goodbye."

I chuckle and look down at the floor, "I don't have long... fifteen minutes maximum."

George moves his one hand off my thigh and puts it on my chin. He pulls my gaze back to his face, "I'll make it the best fifteen minutes of your life."

He looks into my eyes, searching my face for a response, his fingertips gently grazing up and down my thigh, slowly getting closer to my core. I laugh lightly and look up at the ceiling, my bottom lip between my teeth. George kisses my neck gently, slowly kissing so he gets closer and closer to my right ear lobe. He nibbles on the skin just under my ear and I let out an involuntary moan.

"If we're doing this Weasley then it better be quick. My life is on the line." I say, running my hands through his hair and tugging at the ends a little.

George blows cold air on the mark that he definitely just left on my neck which sends shivers down my spine, "If you insist." He whispers before pulling me closer to him by the hips and attaching his lips to mine.

It starts off soft, sweet like he is just kissing me good night. He moves his hands from my hips around to the front of my jeans, his long fingers fumble with my belt as his tongue makes its way into my mouth. I pull on his hair and he groans into my mouth which makes my core grow hotter. I haven't been with him in so long, I hate to admit it but I'm eager to feel him inside me again.

I can tell that he's not thinking straight cause he's struggling to get my pants undone.

"Fuck me." He says pulling away from the kiss so he can look at what he's doing.

I attach my lips to his neck and start kissing and nipping at the skin by his collar bone. He lets out another groan and I can feel myself get wetter.

Without warning, George slides his hands down my pants and starts to rub my heat over my cotton panties making my breath hitch. I let out a loud, involuntary moan and George chuckles to himself, "Missed me that much huh?" He says before shoving his tongue in my mouth again.

His hands move to under my panties and I moan into him, I can feel his hard-on pressing against my thigh as he slowly puts one finger inside me. Painfully slow.

"So fucking wet for me darling." George hums in my ear as he adds another finger, still pumping as slow as he possibly can. His thumb moving in slow circles on my heat. My hips buck involuntary trying to get more friction.

"Mmm fuck George." I moan as I arch my back away from him and throw my head back in ecstasy.

George chuckles to himself, "I forgot how fucking hot you are like this." He says breathily.

He takes his hand out of my pants and I whine, "What was that for?" I say looking at him.

Instead of responding he takes ahold of the waistband of my jeans and pulls them down. I lift my bum off the boxes so he can get them all the way down, taking my panties with them.

He stands back and admires me, the print of his dick very obvious even in the darkness of the storage room.

I lick my lips looking at him, looking at his bulge. "You plan on fucking me or am I going to have to do it myself?" I say with a smirk on my lips, "Cause I can. If you won't do it." I keep eye contact with George as I start to pleasure myself, I start slow but I can't do that to myself.

George stands there with his mouth open slightly, "Fuck Violet," He groans. As he walks towards me he is undoing his pants, pulling both his pants and his boxers down just enough to free his erection. I know I've seen his dick before, fuck it's the only dick I've ever seen so I don't have much to compare it to. But are they all ten inches long?

He kisses me again, one hand pulling at my hair the other massaging my heat again. I reach down and take ahold of his length which makes him breathe in sharply. I slowly start to pump my hand up and down, almost as slow as he was fingering me. I brush my thumb along the tip, covering it with precum.

He pulls away from the kiss, but his hand is still working at my core, my hand still stroking his dick, "You're still sure right?" He practically moans it. God, I love his fucking moan.

"Christ G, when have I ever said no?" I breathe.

He smiles and wraps his free hand around the one I've got on his dick and slowly takes my hand off of him, placing it on his shoulder instead. He lines his tip up with my entrance, it brushes against me and my eyes roll into the back of my head.

"Yeah?" He says one last time, his fingers never stop massaging my heat.

I moan loudly, "Fuck George."

He takes that as the yes that it is and slowly pushes inside me. By now I'm pretty used to his length but my breath still gets stuck in my chest. He stops for a second to let me get comfortable before he starts thrusting into me.

The sweet, 'just gonna take my time' George disappears in front of my eyes. "So fucking tight around me Violet, fuck." He moans.

I put both my hands on his shoulders, digging my nails into him as I wrap my legs tighter around his waist. I start sucking on his neck again, in all the places that make him say my name in that breathy way that drives me mad.

"Christ George," I mumble into the nape of his neck.

He picks up the pace, his hands groping my bare ass, practically lifting me off the boxes. He pounds his length into me faster, harder, touching my center every time.

"F-fuck George!" I stop bruising up his neck and throw my head back from the pleasure. "Y-yes! Fuck, right there, George!"

George shoves his tongue in my mouth to get me to shut up. I've nearly forgotten that there's a store full of people behind that door.

"Fuck Violet. God, I love you." George groans into my mouth, "I fucking love you." He says it over and over again, with every thrust into me he says he loves me.

"sh-shit," I breathe, "I'm so-o close baby." I moan.

George takes one of his hands off my ass and starts to rub at my heat again. The feeling of his cold fingers on my heat nearly makes me cum right then and there. I tighten myself around his length, "Do that again for me Violet." He demands, his breath heavy. I do what he wants and he buries his sweaty face in the nape of my neck.

"I can't fuck– I'm gonna cum, Violet." He breathes.

His thrusts get sloppier, his fingers get faster, I can feel the knot that's been growing in my stomach get tighter, "Cum for me G, fucking hell, come for me I'm right behind you." I moan, pulling hard on his hair. That does the trick because with one loud moan I can feel George's release inside me. Just that feeling pushes me over the edge, "mmm yes!" I try to be as quiet as I can, biting down hard on my lip as George's thrusts get sloppier and sloppier as we fuck through our orgasms.

He pulls out of me, his dick slick with our cum. He looks into my eyes and brushes his thumb across my lips. I kiss it gently and he smiles. "I love you." He whispers.

He moves his hand and I lean forward so I can kiss him properly. I bite and tug on his bottom lip a little which makes him smile into the kiss. His tongue roaming around in my mouth.

I pull away and George furrows his eyebrows together. "I've gotta go," I whisper, patting the side of his face with my hand.

He pulls up his pants and does his belt back up before he finds my pants and underwear in the darkness and hands them to me.

I hop off the stack of boxes and dress. I fix my cloak and look up into George's eyes. "You can stay here. Don't go back with them." He blurts out all at once.

"He'd kill me. He'd kill you. Kill Fred, kill your parents? I'm not worth all that." I say taking his hand in mine and intertwining our fingers.

George rests his forehead on my shoulder, looking down at our intertwined hands, "I'm not going to say goodbye. I can't do that." He says quietly.

I move so he is forced to stand straight again and look me in the eyes, "I've gotta get going." I say, more firmly than last time.

He nods and pecks my lips, "Let's go then."


	162. Part 6, Chapter 6

George and I leave the backroom both out of breath and a little sweaty. I've got my hood back up over my head so it conceals most of my face. George has got several hickeys on his neck that are going to be very hard to hide.

George sort of walks me to the front of the store where his family is. Fred looks up at him, notices the marks on his neck and shoots him a very dirty look. I move my hood for a second and look at Fred. We make eye contact and Fred smiles and rolls his eyes.

"George Weasley! What in gods name!" Molly says looking at her son, "You've just broken up with Violet and now you're- in your own shop! With customers everywhere!"

I move past her with a big smile on my face, "Ah mum don't get your wand in a knot." I can hear George say, "Violet and I are on much better terms as of late."

I push the shop door open and step outside into the cold air. I look over my shoulder and I make eye contact with Ginny. She's got one of Fred and George's pigmypuffs in her hand. She pokes her mum on the shoulder and Molly turns around to look. Molly's eyes go wide as she sees me. I wave a little. Molly spins back around to George and she hits him with her coin purse. I walk away from the boys shop and once I'm far enough away I take my hood off.

I look down the street and I can see Draco coming out of Knockturn Alley, Aunt Narcissa is nowhere in sight. I walk over to him my hands crossed over my chest, "And what the bloody hell do you think you're off to?"

Draco looks as if he was just caught shoplifting, "Don't act like you haven't been places that you should have been." Draco says defensively, "I don't see the book you went off to get? Bet you've got a pocked full of nosebleed nougat though."

I roll my eyes and pull the book I've bought out of my pocket and slam it into Draco's hands, "How about you tell me exactly what you were doing in Knockturn Alley of all places or I tell your mother where I found you."

"I was-" Draco starts but I put my hand over his mouth to shut him up.

Not too far away from us I can see the bottoms of three sets of shoes without anything attached to them. I pull out my wand, "Accio invisibility cloak!" I say pointing my wand at the shoes. Harry, Ron, and Hermione come into view. A cloak lands in my open hand.

I look at them with my eyebrows raised, very unimpressed with the whole situation. "You look lost." I say to them casually.

Draco looks at them with his mouth open slightly, clearly he had no idea that he was being followed. "So you're Death Eaters." Harry says matter of factly.

"So you're a nosey little boy that doesn't seem to know his place in the world." I say with the same air of arrogance that Harry is speaking to me with.

"I'll tell Dumbledore." He says, his nose pointing up in the air slightly.

"I'll take your tongue out of your head and beat you with it before you get the chance." I say back to him. The three of them look at each other, "Like what my aunt said, attack Draco... or harm him in any way and it will be the last thing you do."

"All talk and no bite just like your aunt." Harry spits at me.

I stalk towards him and his friends, my wand still in my hands. I bend down a little so my mouth is right beside his ear, "Trust me Potter, I am so much worse than my aunt." I drop his cloak back in his open hands and walk back to Draco. I put my hand in between his shoulder blades and sort of push him forward. I don't have to look back to know that the three of them are still watching us.

"You sounded like your mother just then." Draco says to me when we are far enough away from the trio.

"I know."

He stops and looks at me, "You didn't... you didn't like it did you?"

"I kind of did yeah. Watching the fear in their eyes. I sort of like having all that power."

Draco looks at me with a mildly impressed look on his face, "Ronald is going to run off and tell his brother what you said to him you know."

"He deserved it."

Aunt Narcissa comes out of Flourish and Blotts and sees us across the street. "Come now you two lets head back home. Violet did you get everything done that you needed to do?"

I look over at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes for a moment, "Yeah I've done it."

Aunt Narcissa nods, "Right I'll be off with all the shopping, Violet you take Draco." And with that she disappears into a big cloud of smoke.

I turn to look at Draco, "As soon we get back to the Manor you're telling me everything. No lies, no excuses."

Draco nods at me and takes my arm. As soon as he touches me I apparate and we land in my bedroom. I go to work putting up the sound sealing charm as well as a locking charm on the room so Draco and I can talk freely. I sit on the middle of my bed, my legs crossed, waiting for Draco to start talking.

"When you were off getting Ollivander, the Dark Lord pulled me into a meeting. Or what I thought was a meeting with how my arm burned. But it was just me, Aunt Bellatrix, and him in the dining room. He locked it so mother couldn't get in." Draco starts. He doesn't sit down or anything, just stands at the foot of my bed.

"He asked you to do something..."

Draco nods, "He asked me to find a way to get Death Eaters into Hogwarts this year. Then he told me I have to kill Dumbledore." He looks at me, fear, pain, anger, confusion, sadness, everything is on his face right now as he looks at me. "He wanted to get you to do it last year. Aunt Bellatrix wanted the glory of killing Dumbledore to fall on you but his army wasn't big enough."

"Draco... Oh God Draco..." I crawl off my bed and go to hug him but he pulls away.

"He said if I didn't do it then he'll kill me. Kill my family, everyone I love." He says in a shaky voice, "And I remembered that there is a vanishing cabinet at Hogwarts, the one that your boyfriend and his brother shoved Graham into..."

"It has a sister..." I say putting the pieces together.

Draco nods, "At Borgin and Burkes. I went down there to ask him how to fix the cabinet because the one at Hogwarts is broken, sending Graham into the toilet pipes and all." He takes a deep breath, "Borgin wasn't very keen on telling me what to do at first, so I showed him my Mark."

"And Potter and his friends saw..."

Draco shrugs, "I didn't know they were following me till you ripped the cloak off of them. Anyways, I told him that Greyback is a friend of the family and I'll have him in his shop in a second if he didn't help me."

"Fenrir Greyback is not someone you use as a weapon Draco! He's-"

"Dangerous yeah I'm aware thanks Violet. But it scared Borgin enough to promise not to sell the other vanishing cabinet. So if I can get the one at Hogwarts to work then I could use the two cabinets to get Death Eaters into the school undetected. Then all I have to do is kill Dumbledore..." He says the last past quietly.

We stand there staring at each other for a good, long time. Then Draco takes a deep shaky breath, "I don't want to do it. I don't think I can do it. Kill someone? I don't think I can handle that."

I practically throw myself onto Draco and hold him in a tight hug, he struggles for a moment then he hugs me back, "I know... I know how it feels to be forced to do something that you can't do."

"But you didn't know the people you've killed. This is Dumbledore! My Headmaster!" Draco says into my shoulder. "I need you there, I need you at Hogwarts."

I pull him away from me so I can hold his face in my hands, "You write to me whenever you need alright? Take Otis to Hogwarts with you and write to me every day. I'll respond as soon as I get it." I push Draco's hair back and he nods a couple times, "You tell me when the Hogsmeade trips are, I'll be there. I'll be in Hogsmeade whenever you're in Hogsmeade. You're not alone. I'll be there." I pull him back into my arms and his body shudders. "I'll be there Draco. I'll always be there."


	163. Part 6, Chapter 7

The day that Draco left for Hogwarts Emma came to visit me. After saying a quick hello to the Dark Lord we rush up the stairs and into my room.

"I don't like the fact that I'm not on the Hogwarts Express right now." Emma groans as she throws herself onto my bed, "I miss it all so much."

I laugh and plop myself into the big chair I have by my bookshelves, "The Dark Lord might send us back near the end of the year you know."

Emma sits up and looks at me, "No, I don't know. What are you on about?"

I tell her the entire thing with Draco, how he's got to kill Dumbledore this year or he dies and everything. "So if the Dark Lord is having Death Eaters storm the grounds..."

"Alright but that's not the same! I miss bumming off class to be with my friends, and the common room, and the smells, and happiness. I don't think I've been happy since we've left."

"Well, now I just feel bad," I say looking at her. I'm trying real hard to stop myself from smiling.

Emma throws a pillow at me. "Violet LeStrange! Did you already find a new boy and you haven't told me about him!"

I laugh and hold the pillow close to me, "Definitely haven't found anyone new, and I don't think I ever will. But I did meet up with a boy."

"Bloody hell Violet! Tell me you didn't!"

I smile really big and look at her, "They're shops pretty amazing. And they've got a really big back room."

Emma flops back onto my bed and squeals, "So what? You went there after hours or something?"

I shake my head, "Nah the store was full of people. Including his entire family."

Emma sits up again, "Vile behavior on both of your parts." Pause, "Do you think anyone saw you?"

"Don't think so. I mean the girl that they hired saw me, Fred saw me, Ginny saw me, and Molly saw me but I don't think anyone else did. I had on that massive green velvet cloak that you always try to steal from me." I say to her.

Emma clicks her tongue, "You two are playing a very dangerous game."

"Alright, enough about me. What about you hmm? Find anyone to snog over the summer?"

Emma rolls her eyes, "Yeah because when I'm not here scared for my life I'm roaming the streets looking for a hot, Death Eater boy to snog." Emma and I laugh, "I did hear that Cassius and Miriam are engaged now though."

My jaw drops, "You're joking."

"Nope. Father heard their parents discussing it at the meeting last week, how that they both think that it will strengthen their blood status or whatever. I don't think that Miriam or Cassius are too pleased about it all."

I lean back into my chair, "God. Imagine being married at eighteen. And you know that their parents are going to expect children right away."

"Obviously, especially with the war coming. They've got to be able to keep their bloodline going if one of them ends up dead."

I scrunch my face up in disgust, "Don't joke about things like that."

"It wasn't a joke. There's no way that we are all going to walk out of the war alive. And I'd rather have it be Miriam and Cassius than you and me." Emma says seriously.

"Have you heard from Walter at all?" I ask Emma.

She looks at me with a really sad face, "No. Suppose his fathers got his entire family hidden after what happened to Karkaroff." Karkaroff, the Headmaster from Durmstrang. He managed to hide from the Dark Lord for a year or so. Then he found him, killed him, and left him to rot somewhere up in the mountains. All because he didn't come back when the Dark Lord told him too.

"Don't think it's wise to send him an owl either with the Dark Lord watching everything so closely." I mumble to myself, "Wonder if Lee and him are still together through all this."

The two of us fall silent, the rain tapping on my roof is the only thing we can hear. "Violet?"

I look up at Emma, "Yeah?"

"I think I'm in love with Fred Weasley." She says softly.

I chuckle to myself, "Yeah I know."

She looks at me, "What do you mean, you know? I've just found out."

"I knew when you two were dancing at the yule ball together. But thank you for finally admitting it." I say with a smile.

Emma rolls her eyes, "That's wasn't looove. That was... lust."

I throw the pillow back at her and she catches it in mid-air, "Really? That was lust?" I get up from my seat and go over to her. I put on my best Fred impersonation, "So you're like really hot in that dress. Want to dance with me?" I bow and put my hand out towards her.

Emma howls with laughter, "There's not even music playing you old twat."

I flick my hand towards my radio that's sitting on my vanity, the song 'O Children' by Nick Cave starts to play. I look back at Emma and wiggle my eyebrows. She laughs again and takes my hand. We start to slow dance around my room taking turns spinning each other around. At first the room is full of laughs, happiness, like we've forgotten what is happening around us.

Then it changes, Emma holds on to me tightly and I rest my chin on the top of her head. We sway back and forth to the beat of the song. Neither of us saying anything, just being in each other's presence. I close my eyes and pretend like I'm back at Hogwarts and Emma and I are dancing around our common room. There's no such thing as the war, no such thing as Dark Marks or Death Eaters, or breaking up with my boyfriend to save his life.

When the song ends neither of us let go of each other. "I don't think I can do this Emma. I don't think I'm strong enough for this." I whisper.

Emma squeezes me tighter, "You're the strongest witch I know Violet. You can do it all." She says back to me.

I close my eyes and tears start pouring down my cheeks, "Everyone needs me to be strong. Draco needs me, my aunt needs me, all of the people that we went to school with. They look to me for guidance but I'm just as lost and confused and scared as they are."

Emma lets go of me and sits on the end of my bed, "I'm sorry if I put that pressure on you." She says.

I sit on the bed beside her, "It's alright Em. Just tiring you know?"


	164. Part 6, Chapter 8

It's been two days since Draco left for Hogwarts and I've already got a letter from him,

I did something that I really shouldn't have. I broke Harry Potter's nose. Stomped on his face after I petrified him. I know what you're going to say, 'Merlin's beard Draco! You've been at Hogwarts for two days!' to which I will say 'well technically I wasn't at Hogwarts when it happened we were still on the train.' Yeah, I know it doesn't help my case. But he snuck into the Slytherin car with his damned invisibility cloak and heard me talking. Not anything serious, I was more of just boasting with my friends about things. Which is wrong I know but I've got to put on a brave face.

I thought you would like to know that Filch has banned everything from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes this year. I know you can't see him but I thought it would make you feel some sort of way. Snape's also finally got himself the Defense Against the Dark Arts class so it's bound to be interesting.

Draco.

I put my face in my hands and groan. It's been two days! Not even if he pulled this stunt when he was still on the train. Otis nudges his head against my hands and I pet him, staring at the letter that Draco sent. I sigh deeply and pull out some parchment, a quill, and some ink.

"Violet?"

I look over at my door and my mother has her head stuck halfway into my room. I fold Draco's letter back up and put it under one of the books on my desk. "Hello, mother," I say to her.

She comes into the room carefully and sits down on my bed. I watch her as she looks around the room slowly. "I'm disappointed in you." She says.

I don't know why but my heart begins to ache as soon as she says that, "I'm sorry mother. I've done everything that you and the Dark Lord has asked of me."

My mother clicks her tongue, "But you are not the one that will be killing Dumbledore are you?" She looks at me with distaste, "The most important thing that the Dark Lord has ever requested to be done and my sister gets the credit!"

Now I'm confused. I look at her with my eyebrows furrowed, "Mother, it's not my fault that I was born earlier than Draco."

My mother laughs, "But did you try to fail your year so you would still be at Hogwarts if the Dark Lord needed! Did you ever consider putting the Dark Lord's needs before your own!"

I don't even try to defend myself. I sit at my desk and let her go on and on about how selfish and useless I am. I try to block it out by focusing on the subtle pulsing in my ring, thinking about George. Then she stops talking, she gets up, comes over to me, kisses the top of my head, and leaves.

I sit there confused, scared, awkward. I understand that my mother has been through a lot with Azkaban and the Dementors and everything but the sudden mood changes, the quick snaps from happy to mad. It's a lot to keep up with. I shake it off and pull Draco's letter out again. I read it over one more time before dipping my quill in my inkpot and respond to Draco's letter.

Draco,

You're an absolute idiot you know that? You're supposed to not draw attention to yourself so you can get through your sixth year with your sanity, not break peoples noses before you even get to Hogwarts.

Have you put any thought into what you've got to do? I don't want to rush you or pressure you at all but if you need someone to bounce ideas off of I'll be here. Tell me when the first Hogsmeade trip is and I'll meet you in the three broomsticks or something for a pint of butterbeer.

Don't even think about getting into another fight or I'll show up to Hogwarts and kick your ass myself. You've got to be smart.

Violet.

I fold an envelope out of parchment and slip the letter inside. Then I seal it with wax and the Malfoy family stamp before scribbling Draco's name on the front along with the words "Hogwarts Great Hall". I sort of slap the letter against my hand a few times before going over to my open window and calling for Otis.

"I know you've just gotten back and your probably going to kill me for sending you off again but I need you to take this to Draco at Hogwarts alright?" I say to Otis. I dunno if owls can roll their eyes but if they can, Otis just did. I attach the letter to his leg and he soars off.

As soon as I close my window my arm starts to burn. I roll my eyes, throw a cardigan over my shoulders and go towards my door. I pat Fergus on the head before I leave the room and go downstairs.

"My Lord?" I say once I'm in the dining room.

The Dark Lord looks past everyone and smiles at me, "Welcome. Come sit, we've got much to discuss."

The next I'd say six hours of my life was dedicated to helping the Dark Lord and the other Death Eaters with a map of Hogwarts that they've drawn up. They used me along with my fellow graduating class to help refresh their memories of the corridors and where exactly specific rooms are located. The Dark Lord took a particular interest in Dumbledore's office but that is to be expected given he's trying to get him killed and what have you.

Because it was so late by the time we were finished, Emma's parents agreed to let her stay the night at the Manor. "You don't think he's planning on fighting this war at Hogwarts to you?" Emma asks me when we get back into my room.

"Doubt it. The Dark Lord is a lot of things but I don't think he's going to want to kill hundreds of children." I say to her. I toss her a set of pyjamas so she can change out of her robes. I put on one of the Weasley jumpers and some sweatpants before crawling into bed and under my covers.

"Says the one that's got a cousin in charge of killing one of the most powerful wizards alive." Emma says. She folds up her robes before coming over to my bed and curling up under the covers, "Have you heard from Draco? Does he have any sort of plan at all?"

I sort of shrug, "Haven't the foggiest, all he did was tell me that he broke Potter's nose and all of the Weasley joke products are banned by Filch."

"The twins are probably right pleased about that." Emma says with a smile on her face. "Are you going to try and sneak off end of the month? For the planned supper or whatever it is?" Emma says to me quietly.

"Don't think so. It would be weird with George and I not together anymore."

Emma rolls her eyes, "And having sex in the back room of his shop while his entire family is shopping isn't weird."

I pull the blankets up over my face to hide my smile, "That was us saying goodbye."

"So you're saying that you're never going to see him again after that?"

I peek my eyes out of the covers and look at my best friend in the eyes, "Never say never."


	165. Part 6, Chapter 9

The last day of November, the first Hogsmeade trip of the year. Currently, I'm sitting in the middle of the Three Broomsticks waiting to meet up with Draco. I wave over Madam Rosmerta and she brings me another Butterbeer. She's not how I remember her, no smile on her face, her eyes sort of void of all emotion. Guess that's what happens when there's a war brewing.

"Violet?"

I sin around in my barstool and look at Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Blaise. "You four haven't seen my cousin have you?" I ask them. I lean my elbows on the bar behind me.

They look at each other for a moment then Blaise speaks, "He's got himself a detention with McGonagall. He hasn't been submitting his homework recently."

I roll my eyes, "Course he hasn't. Alright, thanks. Enjoy your Hogsmeade visit." I pile two galleons on the bar to pay for my drinks as well as a tip and get up off my stool. I pull my hood up over my face and walk out of the bar. I stand outside in the snow for a moment trying to decide what I'm going to do. Because I have the Dark Mark, every time I apparate I turn into a big puff of black smoke, which makes apparating in public rather difficult.

I push through the crowd of Hogwarts students and start off towards the shrieking shack. Once I am far enough away from everyone else I apparate away. I land in Diagon Alley and look both ways before I make my way to the twins shop.

I push the door open and a bell rings above me. The shop is a lot quieter than it was the first time I was here. The girl who I spoke with last time is standing behind the counter that is set up in the middle of the shop, "Hullo! Welcome to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes! I'm Verity, just let me know if you need anything alright?" She says cheerily.

"Right thanks." I say softly. I start to look around the shop at all the wonderful things they've got. 

"Verity head on off for your lunch break. You can have like two hours given there's not much going on." I can hear Fred say to her.

I walk a little closer to the counter. Once Verity has left the shop it's just me and Fred on the main floor. I pick up a skiving snack box and go over to the counter, still hiding my face a bit.

Fred punches a few things on the typewrite on the desk, "That'll be a galleon and two sickles." He says to me.

"Perfect thanks." I say to him.

I can see Fred stop moving out of the corner of my eye, "Oh bloody hell, Violet?" He says to me.

I move the hood of my cloak a bit so he can see my face, "Miss me Freddie?" I say smiling at him a bit.

"For someone who's not supposed to be here, you sure come here a lot." Fred says shaking his head a bit.

I shrug my shoulders, "I miss him. Is he around?"

Fred turns and looks up the stairs that are behind him, "He's upstairs sleeping." He looks back at me, "You've got to stop doing this, coming here, seeing him. You're meant to be broken up."

"I know, but I can't stay away Fred. I love him with my entire body." I say to him.

Fred takes a deep breath, "You know when you broke up with him over the summer he cried in his room for like a week? And I thought I understood, you couldn't continue to see him because it would put all of our lives in danger. But now you're here for the second time doing what? Making yourselves both feel like shit and risking every ones lives for a quick screw?"

My heart aches, "No sugar coating there eh Freddie." I mumble.

"Violet you're my best friend and I love you to death, but George is my twin brother. I can't let you come in here whenever you want just to see him for a moment, get his hopes up, then don't talk to him for months. I'm sorry but I can't let you see him anymore."

I look at Fred for a few moments before shaking out of it, "A galleon, two sickles you said?" I pull my coin purse out of my pocket and start to look through it.

"You don't pay here Violet. No matter what happened between you and George, you don't pay here." Fred pushes the box of candies across the counter towards me with a sad sort of smile on his face.

I smile at him and put the box in my pocket, "Have you heard from Lee and Walter at all?" I whisper to him.

Fred nods a couple times, "Yeah, Walter's family is in hiding, Lee's family is just keeping a low profile right now. They're still together last I heard."

I smile again, "That's great yeah..." I look at Fred, "Emma says hello by the way. She misses you dearly." I pull the hood up over my face again and walk towards the door.

"Fucking hell Fred, why'd you let me sleep in for so long?" George says from behind me. It feels like my entire body stutters. I'm fighting against myself whether or not to turn around. All I can think of is Fred's words 'get his hopes up then not talk to him for months' echoes in my head.

"Have a great rest of your day love!" George calls out to me, not knowing who I am. Hearing him call me love, god I just want to turn around and walk right up to him.

"Uh yeah, you as well." I say loudly before forcing myself out of the store. The door swings shut behind me. I turn around to look through the window. Fred and George are both staring at me. Fred looks annoyed, George looks absolutely destroyed. George starts to move towards the front of the store, right as he pushes the door open I apparate away.

I land in my room at the Manor and I rip my cloak off and shove it in my closet. My head spins, Fred's words echoing through my head, 'I won't let you see him anymore'. He's right though, I can't keep doing that, it's unhealthy for the both of us. It's dangerous for the both of us. It's not right. I can't get George's face out of my head.

Sad.

Scared.

Confused.

He looks as if someone cut off his hand, that's the amount of pain that was in his face when he saw me. I can never do that to him again, I won't ever do that to him again. I can't ever see him that broken ever again. I think it's what I needed to do, go there, see him like that, have Fred open my eyes to how badly my actions have made George feel. I'm done, I'm done with George Weasley.


	166. Part 6, Chapter 10

Violet

I'm sorry I wasn't at Hogsmeade and made you waste your time. I did something really bad. Well, it would have worked if it wasn't for that damned girl. I used the imperious curse on Madam Rosmerta, who then used the imperius curse on that Gryffindor Katie Bell. She was supposed to bring Dumbledore that fucking necklace, it would have worked, it would have killed him. Course she just had to go and have holes in her gloves and she ended up touching it. Blasted Gryffindors, can't even walk back from Hogsmeade without messing things. We can't go to Hogsmeade anymore because of that damned girl. Which means I can't see you for the rest of the year pretty much.

I think Potter and his pets are onto me, but they can't possibly trace it all back to me, I was in McGonagall's classroom writing lines, they can't think that it was me. That fucking necklace cost me a load of money too. You don't think you could send me some? I've run out of ink cause Crabbe is an idiot and spilt it all over me.

I'm having trouble focusing on my studies. Focusing on anything honestly. I've been having trouble falling asleep too and eating, breathing... everything. I don't think I can do this anymore, I know I have to, but I don't think I can. Snape has told me that my mother and he made an unbreakable vow, that he has to keep me safe this year or something. I dunno. I want to come home but I never want to go home again.

I can't stop staring at the Mark on my arm, I've tried to scratch it off with my nails but it does nothing. I've thought of stuff that I'm sure you would hate, jumping off the Astronomy tower being one of them. But I didn't, I went up there and looked over the rail but I didn't. I know you would die if I ever did something like that. I miss you, you always know what to tell me to do, you always know what to say.

Christmas holidays are coming up soon so I'll be coming home I think. I don't want to go home, well except to see you. But I also don't want to stay here any longer. Hogwarts used to be my safe place but now all I want to do is leave here, go live with the mermen or something. I best be off, I've got a potions composition.

Tears fall down my cheeks and make the ink on Draco's letter spread. I just want to hold him, tell him that everything is going to be alright and actually mean it. That's the thing, I can say whatever it is that I want to say but I can't make sure that it will be okay, I can't promise that things will be better soon.

Draco,

Please never, ever, ever say that you are going to throw yourself off the Astronomy tower ever again. You have so much to live for, so much that you haven't even seen yet. When you get home we will do anything but stay at home I promise. We'll go shopping at Diagon Alley, take walks through the forest around the Manor, anything you want.

The necklace idea was pretty ingenious, please don't beat yourself up about it because it didn't work. I would have never of thought of something like that. We can come up with a different plan when you get back here alright? I'll see you this weekend Dray.

Violet

As soon as Draco came home from Kings Cross we went on a walk in the woods that surround the Manor, just the two of us. The snow is falling rather heavily, it's sticking in my eyelashes making it rather annoying to see.

"So... Snape told you that he made the Unbreakable vow with Aunt Narcissa?" I ask Draco once we are far enough away from the Manor.

"Yeah. I was sort of... sneaking out of the common room to get to Dumbledore when no one else would be around and Filch caught me outside of the Slug Clubs party."

I slow my walking pace and look at him, "the Slug Club?" I say laughing.

Draco smiles, "I know it's a stupid name. Professor Slughorn went around school and found all the witches and wizards that he thinks has the greatest potential and ambition and threw them all into a club. Weasley's little sister, Potter, Granger, Blaise..."

"Not you?"

Draco shakes his head and we start walking again, "Not like I would want to be apart of a club with such a stupid name."

I smile, "No, no, you're right. You're a fan of squads, clubs are far too mundane."

Draco rolls his eyes and kicks snow up at me, "Oh come off it." He says laughing, "Anyways, Snape offered to help me with the whole situation. Told him that I didn't need his help that the Dark Lord gave it to me and not him for a reason."

"So you just lied your ass off is what you're telling me."

Draco laughs, "Essentially yeah. I've still haven't been able to figure out how to do it though."

We walk in silence for a bit longer, "What about poison?"

Draco scoffs, "Right yeah because I'll just be able to walk on up to Dumbledore's goblet come dinner time and slip it in."

"Well you could always get someone else to deliver it. Like in a bottle of wine or something." I say shrugging my shoulders a bit.

Draco looks at me like I just said I would give him a thousand galleons, "And this is why you're my favourite cousin!" He says with a massive smile on his face.

"I'm your only cousin you dummy." I bump into him a little and we keep walking.

Draco sighs, "Snow is so peaceful... makes me think that we can all have a fresh start some day you know?"

"I wish I'll have a fresh start one day. Maybe after all this I can move away from home, start a family of my own... I'll be able to raise my kids with the love I was never shown..." Draco continues.

I look at him and smile. I throw my arm over his shoulders and pull him into my side, "So you want kids?" I say smiling.

Draco chuckles to himself, "I think so yeah."

I kiss the top of his head, "You'd be a great father Dray. I can sense it."

"And you're going to be a great aunt to my kids." Draco says smiling, "Have you ever thought of it? Having kids?"

My smile falters, "George and I talked about it a lot. He wanted five kids. I sort of did too honestly... Guess I'll have to change those plans around."

"Have you seen him since you broke up wit him?" Draco asks softly.

I nod, "Well you sort of already know that I snuck off to see him when I went to Flourish and Blotts that one day..." I say, Draco laughs and says 'I knew it'. "Then well, when you didn't show up in Hogsmeade I went to their store. Didn't see him but I saw Fred. He told me I have to stop coming by."

"Well that's rude." Draco says matter of factly.

"Not rude, he was just making sure that both me and his brother didn't get hurt more than we already are."

Draco rolls his eyes, "Didn't you two like have your first proper kiss at Christmas?"

I nod, "Yeah. Neither of us can really remember when we actually started dating so we have been using Christmas as our anniversary."

Draco looks at me with a smirk on his face, 'I'm not saying that you should go see him on Christmas because he's a dirty blood traitor and everything... but you should go see him on Christmas."

"Right and get myself and every single Weasley killed."


	167. Part 6, Chapter 11

Midnight on Christmas, I sneak down the hall and into Draco's room, holding the skiving snack box I got a while ago in my hands. I push open his door and tiptoe in.

"Why the bloody hell are you walking like that? Looks like someone shoved a stick up your ass." Draco says looking at me from his desk

"I thought you were asleep," I say to him. I walk over to his desk and plop the box of candies beside him. "Merry Christmas you old twat."

Draco looks at the box of joke candies, "They're banned at Hogwarts." He says casually.

I go over to his bed that's in the corner of his room. "Right because you've really been following the rules of Hogwarts as of late." I sit down cross-legged on his bed and look at him with my eyebrows raised.

Draco turns around to look at me, "Oh ha, ha, ha. Tell another joke Violet you're really funny."

"What are you working on so late at night anyway?" I ask, nodding my head towards the books and parchment that cover his desk.

He looks at the mess covering his desk for a moment then looks back at me, "What do you think I'm working on?" He asks right back.

I take the hint and get up from his bed, "If you need me I'm down the hall to the left." I say. I go over to him and peck the top of his head, "Merry Christmas." I mumble.

"Merry Christmas." He says back to me before I walk out of his door and close it carefully behind me.

I can hear my mother laughing quietly downstairs. It's not the normal cackling that I'm used to hearing though, it's soft. Like she's a school girl talking to her crush or something like that. I chose to ignore that my mother is clearly flirting with someone downstairs and slip back into my room and fall asleep.

CRACK!

"Violet get up. Jesus look at the state of you."

I groan and roll over, light shining into my room through the stain glass window giving my room a light purple glow, "Emma what the fuck are you doing here? What time is it?"

I watch as Emma walks over to my closet and throws open its doors, "Oh yeah, Merry Christmas to you too." She says sassily. "It's like seven at night." She says checking her watch.

I sit up in bed and wipe the sleep out of my eyes, "Alright, Merry Christmas, now tell me what the hell you're doing here?"

Emma stops what she's doing and looks at me. "You didn't hear? No course you haven't you've been in bed all damn day. The Dark Lord knows that Harry is at the Burrow." She throws a pair of pants and a shirt. "They're planning on burning it to the ground."

My heart sinks into my gut. I scramble out of bed and pull on the clothes that Emma just threw at me. "When?"

Emma looks at her watch again, "In like five minutes." She grabs onto me and the next thing I know we are outside the Burrow. I can hear the laughing and chattering from inside as soon as my feet hit the ground. Emma and I break into a full sprint and pound our fists on the door.

Arthur Weasley pulls it open and Emma and I force ourselves inside. "You've all got to go! Get out now!" Emma says frantically.

Remus and Bill come over to us, "What's going on?" Remus asks us.

"Death Eaters, they know Harry's here. They're going to burn the house down." I say looking at him, "You've got to get out, right now."

"And how are we supposed to trust you two? Who's to say that there isn't Death Eaters waiting for us to evacuate?" Bill snaps at us.

Fred, George, Molly, and... Fleur? All come over to us as well, "Violet? What's going on?" George asks me, the pulse in my ring is going a mile a minute and all I want to do is hug George.

Emma roars, "You're wasting time! You want to get burned to a crisp that's fine by me. We tried to warn you all."

Nearly as soon as Emma finishes that sentence there's a loud bang from outside and the unmistakable sound of my mothers laugh. Flames circle the house. "They'll kill us." I say to everyone before grabbing onto Emma and apparating us both out of the house and into the marsh that is around the Weasleys home.

Everyone runs out of the house after that. I can hear George yelling my name which pulls on my heart, the fear in his voice, the pain in his voice.

My mother's cackle rings out over the flames, "I killed Sirius Black! I killed Sirius Black!" She chants as she skips around the circle of fire that she's created. Harry pulls out his wand and charges through the flames, Remus tries to stop him, "Oh? Coming to stop me are you?"

"That bloody idiot just did what they wanted him to do." I say to Emma. We run through the reeds towards the sound of my mother laughing. We pass other Death Eaters who are stationed around the house. They didn't see us run into the house did they?

Emma skids to a halt and I end up smashing into her. We are still hidden by a few reeds so Fenrir Greyback can't see us as he's prepping to attack Ginny. I pull out my wand, "Stupefy!" I cast my wand towards Fenrir. He blocks the attack, thinking that it came from Harry Potter that is now a few feet away from us all. He laughs wickedly and apparates away.

Ginny looks around her trying to spot who actually cast the spell but Harry dashes off and she follows. Emma and I follow the two of them, making sure to stay hidden in the reeds, "I can't let them hurt Ginny." I whisper to Emma.

My mother laughs up ahead. Emma and I make our way over carefully. Harry and Ginny are standing back to back in a flattened bit of reeds, both of them sending hexes into the reeds as well as blocking anything that comes there way. Remus, Arthur, and Bill come sprinting through and Emma and I bury ourselves deeper into the darkness.

All around us Death Eaters start to apparate away, clearly freaked out by the presence of adults. I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding.

BANG!

"ARTHUR!" Molly screams. Arthur, Bill, Remus, Ginny, and Harry all sprint out of the reeds and back towards the Burrow. I can see it from here, vicious flames lick the clouds above the house. I race back through the reeds ignoring Emma's cries for me to stop.

I position myself on the edge of the Weasley property. I do a mental head count and make sure that everyone has got out safe. George is looking at the darkness that surrounds his burning home, clearly looking for me. He knows I'm not dead, I've still got my ring on.

Emma comes up beside me, "We've got to go. They're going to know that we were here and we most definitely were not supposed to be here." She whispers into my ear.

I look at George once again, we make eye contact and even from a distance I can see his shoulders relax and his whole body release tension. I grab onto Emma and apparate us out of there and back to the Manor.

As soon as we land we throw our outer robes onto my chair and lie in my bed just in case anyone comes upstairs looking for us.

"You think they're going to be alright?" Emma asks me.

I shrug my shoulders, "All their memories, photo albums... I dunno man."

"They should have listened to us. Why didn't they listen to us?"

"Couple of Death Eaters show up to your house demanding you leave or be killed? It does sound like a trap." I say to her.

A knock on my door makes both Emma and I jump, "Come in!" I call.

Aunt Narcissa comes in the room and smiles, "Oh Emma, I didn't know you were here." She says, "I was just making sure that you were feeling alright Violet, we haven't seen you all day."

"I'm alright. I just really wasn't feeling well and when I didn't respond to Emma's owl she decided to pop over to make sure I was alright."

Aunt Narcissa smiles again, "I'll get Norby to bring you up some stew if you're feeling under the weather. I'll send some up for you as well Emma. Can't have you starving under my roof." She leaves the room and closes the door behind her.

"You think she knows where we were?" Emma says so quietly that I can barely hear her.

"No, but we can't go doing that sort of thing again or we will get ourselves killed."


	168. Part 6, Chapter 12

I haven't heard from any of the Weasleys since Christmas not like I was expecting to hear anything though. Its March second now, Ron's birthday was yesterday... I miss them all so much. The meetings with the Dark Lord have gotten longer and more annoying, but Emma has also been spending most nights at the Manor much to her parent's annoyance.

"Oi Violet your owls at the window," Emma says looking over at my window from my bed.

I groan and get up from the floor and pad my way over to the window and unlatch it. Otis hops into my room soaking wet from the rain that's falling heavily outside. I take the letter off his leg and let him say in my room for as long as he wants. I look at Emma, "It's from Draco." I say.

She puts the book that she's been reading down and gestures for me to come over to my bed. I crawl up and sit cross-legged beside Emma.

Violet,

I did what you said but it didn't work. I thought that making Rosmerta give a bottle of mead to Dumbledore would work but that damned Slughorn kept it for himself and ended up pouring one out with Ron and Harry. Ron nearly died, he's still in the hospital wing last time I heard.

Which means that I've nearly killed two people in my attempts to kill one. I'm starting to get nervous Violet. I don't think that I'll be able to get it done which means that I'll be killed as soon as I get home. He's relying on me. If I don't get this done then that's it. I feel like it would be easier for me to just not come home. I know you said that you would kill me if I ever did it but that's the thing isn't it? I would already be dead.

I'm sorry, I know that's not what you want to hear from me, I know that you've got your own problems and listening to mine isn't helping anything. In better news, I think I've nearly got the vanishing cabinet complete. It's been a lot harder to figure out than I thought it would be. I'm just trying to focus on the fact that it's nearly all over. Anyways...

Draco

I read the letter out loud so that Emma can listen. Once I finish I look at her, "That's the second time he's spoken about doing something like throwing himself off the castle. I have to go visit him." I say getting up from the bed.

Emma looks at me, "Right and how do you suppose you're going to get into Hogwarts Violet? You can't apparate and the Floo Network is being guarded by the ministry or what have you."

I throw the letter at the floor, "Then what am I supposed to do!? Just sit here and hope that my cousin doesn't just give up on himself?"

Emma watches me pace back and forth. I pull on my hair in frustration. "You're going to write back to him. Tell him that everything will be alright, not to do anything too drastic. And that it will all be over soon." Emma says calmly.

"But I don't know if it will be alright! No one knows anything right now, half the people we know might very well be dead in a few months!" I cry out in anger and look at Emma who is watching me with big eyes.

"You done? Because yes it sucks and the world sucks and it feels like you're dying every time you leave this room but right now Draco needs you. Draco needs you to tell him that everything is going to be okay. So go over to your desk and tell him exactly that." Emma says matter of factly.

I look at her and she nods towards my desk. I sigh and go sit down on my desk chair and pull out parchment and a quill.

Draco,

Don't do anything stupid alright? The years nearly over and then you'll be back here with us. The mead was a genius idea if it wasn't for other peoples stupidity. Try focusing your attention on the vanishing cabinet so that next time you try you will have a support system around you. I know that it's not ideal and its definitely not what He wants to happen but it will be your best shot. You'll be alright Dray.

Violet

It's been a month since I sent that letter off to Hogwarts. The Dark Lord is starting to get impatient. Every time he is in the same room with my Aunt he reminds her that he will have to kill her son if he doesn't perform. He then reminds he that her entire family is worthless and that she loved the wrong man.

But the Dark Lord doesn't say anything awful to me. In fact he praises me constantly, especially around my Aunt. Nearly every sentence out of his mouth is 'Violet. You have proven yourself to be a LeStrange, a true decedent of the Noble house of Black.

"Violet, get up we have to go to Hogwarts." My aunt practically shouts at me one foggy morning.

"What? Why?" I say. I throw myself out of bed and get dressed as fast as possible.

Aunt Narcissa looks as if she is either going to cry or murder someone, I can't tell. "Draco's been hurt, badly. Come now, through the fireplace in the living room." She spins around and heads down the stairs. I shove my feet into some kitten heels and stumble over myself trying to get a hold of my wand. Draco, Draco's been hurt. I'll kill who ever did it, I swear to god I'll kill them.

I fumble down the stairs, my legs not moving as fast as I want them to go, Aunt Narcissa is standing in front of the fireplace. She looks at me, nods, throws Floo Powder into the flames and shouts 'Hogwarts Hospital Wing' and she steps inside.

My hands are shaking when I grab onto some Floo Powder. I take a deep breath before I throw it into the fire and follow my aunt.

I step out of the fire and I instantly go over to the bed that Draco's in. My aunt is busy talking with Madam Pomfrey.

"What the fuck happened to you?" I say sitting down on the edge of Draco's bed. His face and torso are bandaged only his eyes and mouth can be seen through the bandages, his hairs still tinted pink no doubt because of the blood.

"Harry Potter..." Draco moans, "I was in the bathroom, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't see. He came in and attacked me..."

I hold his hand in mine and bring it close to my heart. "I'll fucking kill him." I say, "I swear on my life I'll kill him Draco."

Aunt Narcissa comes over, her makeup under her eyes are smudged with tears. I get up so she can take my spot beside Draco. I tell Madam Pomfrey that I'm going to the bathroom and I push past her and out of the door.

I stumble out of the door and prop myself up with the wall. I'm so mad I start crying, I clutch onto my chest and sob. I stop myself about five seconds after I started crying and march down the corridor and down the grand staircase. I don't care what staff member sees me if they see me at all. I march past groups of students, a few of them seem to regognize me. I pass the great hall and walk into the dungeons. Best part of being a Slytherin is the fact that they never change their passwords.

I slam my hand on the wall and mutter the word 'pure-blood'. The wall moves underneath my hand and I slip inside.

"Violet? What the hell are you doing in here?" A sixth... well now seventh year asks me when she sees me.

"Are Crabbe and Goyle here?" I snap. A few students run into the boys corridor and they come out with a very worried looking Crabbe and Goyle.

"Violet?" Crabbe asks me with a stupid fucking look on his face.

"Where the bloody fucking hell were you two idiots when Draco was attacked!" I shout, the entire common room goes silent. Crabbe and Goyle flinch at my anger. "The one fucking time you two aren't following him around like a lost dog and this happens!"

"We were going to go with him, honest we were but he didn't want us to be there." Crabbe says stuttering over his words a bit.

"So you follow him anyways! Stand outside of the bathroom or something to make sure no one else gets in! Fucking idiots all of you! No wonder why you two haven't-" I stop myself from saying any thing else and just glare at them, "I'll have your heads if something like this happens again you hear me?" I spit.

"We weren't the ones to do anything! It was that Potter kid!" Goyle says.

"Well I can't get into the Gryffindor common room to yell at him can I!?" I shout. I glare at them for another minute before storming out of the common room and marching back up to the hospital wing. I know that yelling and screaming at those two blithering idiots isn't going to do a single thing but I had to do something. I couldn't just sit there and look at Draco all sad and broken like that.

When I get back to the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey tells me that my aunt has already left and its high time I do the same. I go back over to Draco, "So I may have went and yelled at Crabbe and Goyle. Sorry for that." I say to him.

"Fucking idiot." He says back to me smiling.

I shrug, "Well it was either yell at those two or beat the fuck out of Harry and I don't know how to get into the Gryffindor common room anymore." I say quietly.

Draco laughs, "Guess you're going to be off then?"

"Yeah. Keep me updated though please? Send me a letter when you're out of here and shit." I stroke his hair with my hand and smile at him, "Lets hope this is the last time I have to see you in a fucking hospital bed."


	169. Part 6, Chapter 13

"The time has come!" The Dark Lord shouts through the very crowded dining room. "Draco Malfoy has succeeded and there is now a perfect way from here to Hogwarts!"

The room breaks out into cheers. The Dark Lord sent me and my friends to Borgin and Burkes to get the other cabinet about a week ago to prepare for all this.

"Not everyone will be coming. You know who you are. I will be sending Violet LeStrange along first, she will cast the Dark Mark above the Astronomy tower to lure Dumbledore there. Draco will be waiting."

The crowd parts and I walk through to the smiling faces and make my way to the vanishing cabinet. I pray that Draco actually succeeded and I don't get lost in limbo like Graham did. I pull open the cabinet door and step inside. As soon as the door closes behind me everything goes dark. Nothing happens, but I can't hear the chattering of Death Eaters anymore.

I take a deep breath and push the cabinet door open again. I'm in a very cluttered room full of the strangest things I've ever seen. It doesn't take a genius to realize that I'm at Hogwarts. I take a breath and rush to the door. In the corridor, it takes me a minute to realize where I am. Seventh floor. I turn around to look at the door again but it's not there. Genius Draco, the room of requirement.

I hurry down the corridor and start up the ladder that leads into the Astronomy tower. I rush over to balcony, raise my wand into the air, and shout "MORSMORDRE!" The sky above me parts, green smoke shifts and gathers in different areas, forming the Dark Mark. I can hear muffled screams coming from below me so I can only assume that the Death Eaters are filing through the vanishing cabinet.

I watch in a sort of awe as the Death Eaters land on the Hogwarts grounds. They appear to be met by members of the Order. This isn't good at all. I look back up in the sky and there's a grey figure soaring towards me, Dumbledore.

I start down the spiral staircase but there's footsteps coming up. I manage to squeeze myself under the floorboards almost as not to be seen by anyone or anything.

"Go and wake Severus." I can hear Dumbledore say faintly, "Tell him what has happened and bring him to me. Do nothing else, speak to no one else and do not remove your cloak. I shall wait here."

"But-" A small voice says.

Dumbledore cuts the voice off, "You swore to obey me Harry- go!" I can hear footsteps that I assume belong to Harry as he rushes off to do what Dumbledore told him to do.

Footsteps start up the stairs, I can see a flash of bright white hair. Draco. Fuck. The door bursts open, "Expelliarmus!" Draco cries.

I start to un-bury myself from my hiding spot and slowly creep up the stairs so I can get a better look at what's going on.

"Good evening Draco." Dumbledore says casually.

Draco looks around the room, "Who else is here?" He spits.

"A question I might ask you. Or are you acting alone?"

Draco laughs a little, "No, I've got back-up. There are Death Eaters here in your school tonight."

"Well, well," Dumbledore says, "Very good indeed. You found a way to let them in did you?" He talks to Draco as if he's just said that he's gotten full marks on one of his compositions.

"Yeah." Draco says, his voice is shaky, I can tell he's trying his hardest not to cry, "Right under your nose and you never realized!"

"Ingenious. Yet forgive me... where are they now? You seem unsupported." Dumbledore says calmly.

"They met some of your guard. They're having a fight down below. They won't be long... I came on ahead. I-I've got a job to do." He says stumbling over his words.

"Well then, you must go on and do it my dear boy." Dumbledore says softly.

There's silence, Draco's wand arm is shaking slightly. I step out of the shadows carefully but Dumbledore looks at me and shakes his head no just a little. "You are not a killer Draco."

"How do you know!" Draco says all in one breath. Draco's shoulders slump a little as he realizes just how stupid what he said sounds. "You don't know what I'm capable of." He says more confidently, "You don't know what I've done!"

I roll my eyes involuntarily a little, he's really out here trying to talk big huh.

"Oh yes I do." Dumbledore says, "You almost killed Katie Bell, and Ronald Weasley. You have been trying, with increasing desperation, to kill me all year. Forgive me Draco, but they have been feeble attempts... so feeble, to be honest that I wonder whether your heart has been really in it."

"It has been in it!" Draco roars, "I've been working on it all year and tonight-" There's a muffled scream from down below which cut's Draco off mid-sentence.

"Somebody is putting up a good fight." Dumbledore says casually, "But you were saying... yes, you have managed to introduce Death Eaters into my school which, I admit, I thought to be impossible, how did you do it?" Draco doesn't say anything, he's listening to the sounds coming from downstairs. "Perhaps you ought to get on the with the job alone." Dumbledore continues, "What if your back up has been thwarted by my guard? As you have perhaps realized there are members of the Order of the Phoenix here tonight too. And after all, you don't really need help... I have no wand at the moment... I cannot defend myself."

The two of them go on for quite some time, Dumbledore has Draco explain exactly how he managed everything he's done this year in detail. I zone out for most of it, till Draco says, "Someone's dead. One of your people... I don't know who, it was dark. But I stepped over the body on my way here. I was supposed to be waiting here when you got back but your Order got in the way."

Dead? Someone on the Order is dead? My mind instantly jumps to George. Then Fred, then to all of the Weasleys. One of them is dead. I can still feel the pulse of my ring so I know its not George but that doesn't stop my stomach from doing summersaults.

"There is little time," Dumbledore says cutting though my thoughts, "So let us discuss your options."

Draco snaps, "My options! I'm standing here with a wand- I'm about to kill you-"

"My dear boy, let us have no more pretense about that. If you were gong to kill me, you would have done it when you first Disarmed me, you would have not stopped for this pleasant chat about ways and means." Dumbledore tries to talk Draco down a bit.

"I haven't got any options!" Draco whimpers, "I've got to do it! He'll kill me! He'll kill my family!"

My grip tightens on my wand, if Draco doesn't or well can't kill Dumbledore I'll have to do it.

"I appreciate the difficulty of your position." Dumbledore says, "Why else do you think I have not confronted you before now? Because I knew that you would have been murdered if Lord Voldemort realize that I suspected you."

Both Draco and I flinch at the sound of the Dark Lord's name. It sends shivers all the way down my spine and into my legs.

"I did not dare speak to you of the mission with which I knew you have been entrusted in case he used Legilimency against you." Dumbledore continues. "But now at least we can speak plainly to each other... no harm has been done, you have hurt nobody though you are very lucky that your unintentional victims survived.... I can help you..." Dumbledore's eyes flicker from Draco to me, like he's talking to the both of us.

"No you can't!" Draco barks, "Nobody can. He told me to do it or he'll kill me. I've got no choice."

"Come over to the right side Draco and we can hide you more completely than you can possibly imagine. What is more, I can send members of the Order to your mother and to Violet tonight to hide them as well. Your father is safe at the moment in Azkaban... when the time comes we can protect him too... come over to the right side Draco... You are not a killer." Dumbledore speaks calmly, his attention flicks between Draco and I. I believe him, I want to believe him. Draco's grip on his wand a little and his arm lowers slightly.

Suddenly, footsteps were coming up the stairs. I come running out of the shadows and grab onto Draco. "You're alright. I'm here." I say to him softly.

"Violet..." Draco whispers.

"Dumbledore cornered!" A Death Eater named Amycus says eagerly, "Dumbledore wandless, Dumbledore alone! Good job Draco!" His sister, Alecto is smiling like a ninny beside him. Draco looks at me terrified.

"Good evening Amycus." Dumbledore says calmly, "And you've brought Alecto too... charming."

"Think you're little jokes' ll help you on your death bed?" Alecto sneers.

Fenrir Greyback comes up beside Draco and I, "Do it." He says. He's got blood smeared all over his face.

"Is that you Fenrir?" Dumbledore asks.

"That's right." Fenrir says barring his teeth, "Pleased to see me Dumbledore?"

"I can't say that I am."

Fenrir licks some of the blood off his lips, "But you know how much I like kids Dumbledore." He seethes.

"Am I to take it that you are attacking even without the full moon now? This is most unusual... You have developed a taste for human flesh that cannot be satisfied once a month?"

I pull Draco closer to me and away from Greyback. I stare at his blood stained face with fear and anger all mixed together.

"That's right, shocks you that does it? Frightens you?" Greyback says staring at Dumbledore with a hunger that I never want to see on another humans face ever again.

"Well I cannot pretend it does not disgust me." Dumbledore says, "And yes I am a little shocked that Draco here invited you, of all people, into the school where his friends live..."

"I didn't." Draco says. I tighten my grip on his arm to try and get him to shut up, "I didn't know he was going to come-"

"I wouldn't miss a trip to Hogwarts Dumbledore, not when there are throats to be ripped out... delicious... delicious..." Greyback picks at his teeth with his fingernails. "I could do you for after's Dumbledore."

I pull Draco away from Greyback a little more, I want as much space between the two of them as possible.

"No!" A man shouts, I recognize him from meetings but I've never learned his name, "We've got orders. Draco's got to do it. Now, Draco. And quickly."

Draco spins to look at me, his eyes are full of fear and tears. "I'll do it." I say. I pull my wand out and point it at Dumbledore.

"Just because your mother is his right hand LeStrange doesn't give you superiority. Back down." The man snaps.

"I'll kill him then kill you if you speak to me like that again." I spit, literally, spit at his feet. Greyback screams with laughter.

"REDUCTO!" There's a blast from below that makes everyone in the room jump.

"Now Draco! Quickly!" The man roars.

Draco raises his wand but his hand is so shaky he can't possibly aim. "Let me do it!" I say pointing my wand back at Dumbledore, my hand is steady, my eyes are staring right into Dumbledore's.

"I said no!" The man roars.

I turn around and make eye contact with Professor Snape. I spin back around towards Dumbledore, my heart starts to beat faster.

"We've got a problem Snape," Amycus says not looking away from Dumbledore, "The boy doesn't seem able."

Dumbledore cuts him off, "Severus..." He begs. Dumbledore is begging for his life. I lower my wand and focus my attention back on Draco who is shaking violently at this point. I pull him into me, one hand wrapped around his torso the other one holding the back of his head so he can't see what I know is going to happen.

Professor Snape pushes past everyone, I stagger backwards but I don't let go of Draco. He whimpers in my ear a little and I stroke his hair and hush him.

"Severus... please..." Dumbledore whispers.

Snape raises his wand and points it at Dumbledore, "Avada Kedavra!"


	170. Part 6, Chapter 14

"Draco come on, we have to go," I say pulling on his arm a little.

Draco is now completely sobbing, full mental breakdown. The other Death Eaters have all left, Snape included.

Draco nods and he lets me pull him down the stairs and out into the corridor. We sprint down the corridor, past Neville who is trying his best to fight off a Death Eater. I can hear McGonagall shout but I don't turn back. I tighten my grip on Draco's hand to make sure he's still with me.

I pull Draco out into the castle grounds, my eyes set on Hogsmeade. We get there, I can get a room at Hogshead and we can camp out. No one asks questions at Hogshead. I don't stop running despite the screams coming from behind us. Hagrid's hut erupts into flames.

"Violet, we've got to get back home!" Draco says out of breath.

I ignore him and push open the gate that separates Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. I pull him into the shadows and sit him down on a rock, "Here wait." I say trying to catch my breath. I take out my coin purse that I bewitched to carry pretty much anything and everything. I reach all the way in and pull out some spare trousers and sweater that I had and throw them at Draco. "Get changed, we can't have you in your Hogwarts things."

"Violet... the Dark Lord will be looking for us." Draco says as he pulls the sweater on over his head.

"And we will deal with that at a later date." I pull out my green velvet cloak and swing it round my shoulders. I do up the silver claps that's under my chin and pull the hood up around my face.

Draco hands me his Hogwarts uniform and I shove it in my purse and pull out a matching cloak for him to wear. Once he's settled I take his hand again and pull him through the empty streets of Hogsmeade.

"Sorry sir, we need a room for the night." I say to the barkeep.

The old, scruffy looking man looks at me, "Just one room?"

"Did I stutter?" I snap at him.

The barkeep raises his eyebrows but doesn't say anything else to me, "Three galleons a night."

I pull five galleons out and put them on the bar, "You never saw us here." I say to him.

He pulls a rusty old key out from a drawer under the bar and slides it over to me, "Room eight on the third floor."

I take the key in one hand and take Draco's hand in the other. I pull Draco up the stairs and to the room that we have the key for. I sort of push him in the door and close and lock the door behind me before setting up extra protective measures around the whole room.

Draco takes the cloak off him and puts it over the back of a chair, "So what's the plan now Violet? We're just going to stay here forever?"

I roll my eyes and take my cloak off as well, "No. We stay here tonight, let whatever's going on at Hogwarts die down a bit, then we go back home."

"Go back home? Are you mental? I didn't kill Dumbledore and he probably knows it!" Draco cries.

"Dumbledore is dead. You were in the room when it happens, that's all that matters. Snape made the unbreakable vow so he was going to have to do it anyways if you couldn't." I say to him.

"Well what if you just did it despite him?" Draco asks me, "Which by the way was a shit stupid thing to do."

"Guess he would have died? I dunno dude. Not really our problem anymore though is it?"

Draco looks at me in shock, "Not our problem anymore! Dumbledore is dead Violet! And all we are doing is hiding out in a fucking Inn!"

"Language Draco." I snap at him. "Get to bed. We've got to get up early tomorrow."

I go over to the bed and crawl under the sheets. Draco huffs then crawls into bed on the other side, "Thank you." He whispers.

I roll over so we are facing each other, "For what?"

"For being there, volunteering to do it for me. For everything you've said and done this year. I dunno what would have happened if you weren't there."

I smile at him, "You'd probably be dead right now."

The next morning Draco and I put the cloaks back on and head out of our room. We go down to the bar and give the barman the key back. "Have you heard? Dumbledore is dead." Someone says behind us.

"Funerals in three days. At Hogwarts." Suppose nearly the entire wizarding population will show up." Another voice says.

I take Draco's hand and we walk out of the Inn and towards the shrieking shack. No one is out this early in the morning. Once we are far away from the town I apparate Draco and I back to the Manor.

Unlucky for us, aunt Narcissa was sitting on my bed when we landed in my room. "Where have you two been!" She says loudly. I don't think I've ever heard her yell before.

"Draco was hit by a jinx last night, he couldn't move for hours. We spent the night tucked away in the Forbidden forest." I say quickly.

Aunt Narcissa looks between Draco and I but she doesn't say anything. It's hard to tell if she is pleased with that excuse or not, "The Dark Lord wants to see you downstairs Draco. Violet, you can come if you want." She gestures for Draco to follow her and slowly walks out of my room.

"You're coming right?" Draco says to me quietly.

I nod a couple times, "Yeah course I'm coming." He smiles a little and heads out of my room. I follow close behind him.

We walk into the dining room and everyone starts clapping. Death Eaters part so that there is a clear cut path to the Dark Lord and my mother.

"Well done Draco!" The Dark Lord says once everyone stops clapping. "You got my army into the most secured place in the wizarding world." There is another round of applause but the Dark Lord raises his hand to silence them all, "And you are so very close to bringing pride back to the Malfoy name."

Draco bows his head, "Thank you my Lord." Draco says in a soft voice.

"And now! The real work can begin! With Dumbledore out of the way we can now focus back onto our initial target. Harry Potter."


	171. Part 6, Chapter 15

Neither Draco nor I are supposed to be here. We're weren't supposed to even leave the grounds of the Manor. But here we are, standing at the very back of Dumbledore's funeral.

Draco is sporting one of his black suits, but he's also got a black cloak around his shoulders so he can hide his face with the hood. I'm wearing a long black dress and a matching cloak to Draco's. If this wasn't a funeral we would stick out like sore thumbs.

Students from both Beauxbaton and Durmstrang are here, along with everyone who was at Hogwarts this year, the entire ministry... pretty much everyone that ever looked at Dumbledore was here, sitting by the edge of the lake in front of a stunning marble table. Draco and I are standing at the very back of the crowd. I can see Fred and George, along with the rest of the Weasley clan sitting near the front of the group.

Music. Relatively awful music comes from the lake. Draco peers around me to see the merpeople who have rose to the surface to play their instruments. The murmuring stops and people all around us turn towards the back. I follow their gaze and land on Hagrid. He's walking slowly, tears streaking down his face. In his arms, wrapped tightly in purple velvet that was spangled with gold stars, was Dumbledore's body.

Everyone watches in silence as Hagrid makes the slow, long walk to the front of the crowd. I glance at Draco and he's got tears streaming silently down his face, just like me. Just like everyone else around us.

Hagrid lays Dumbledore's body onto the marble table and walks back down the aisle, blowing his nose very loudly as he goes. The music stops. A small older man wearing black robes gets up and stands in front of the table but I can't make out what he's saying from so far away. There's a small splash sound from the lake, looking over I can see that the merpeople have stuck their heads out of the water to listen.

A slight movement catches my eye and I look over at the edge of the forest. They're hard to see but standing in the shadows are centaurs, nearly all of them holding bows in their hands. I move my hand out from under my cloak and grab onto Draco's. Draco squeezes my hand and sniffs his nose.

The man in black stops talking and sits back down in his chair. Then, flames. Great big white flames erupt all around Dumbledore's body. A few people let out a scream. Just as fast as they appeared, the flames were gone, in it's place lies a great big marble tome, with Dumbledore's body inside of it. Then, a shower of arrows from the Forbidden forest, no doubt the centaurs send off for Dumbledore.

The crowd breaks off slowly, people getting up from their seats and talking with their friends or simply making the walk back to Hogsmeade.

"You want to head out?" I ask Draco softly.

Draco sniffs his nose again and shakes his head no, "I'm going to go speak with my friends." He says before walking off towards the group of Slytherin students that have gathered together by one of the castle walls.

I stand by myself awkwardly for a moment, then I see George walking along the lake by himself. I give myself a little mental confidence boost and politely make my way over to him.

"Hey..." I say softly.

George turns around quickly, "Hey..." He breathes.

We stand a few feet apart just looking at each other awkwardly, "Take a walk with me?" He says finally.

I nod and smile a little. We walk down the lake shore in silence, our shoulders bumping into each other a little but other than that we don't touch. "You remember that night we snuck our during third year and got covered in poison oak?" George asks.

I chuckle to myself at the memory, "Yeah."

George looks at me out of the corner of his eye, "I think that was when I realized I loved you." He says.

I stop walking and George takes another step or two before stopping and turning around to look at me. "Why'd you stop walking?" He asks quietly.

"You said loved... past tense." I say back in the same quiet tone that he was using.

George looks down at his feet then back up at me, "I uhm, I've sort of... met someone."

My heart shatters into a million pieces, my eyes instantly fill with tears but I try to blink them away, "Oh... do I know them?"

George looks at me, "No, she's a muggle that works in the town by my house. It's not serious or anything like that. We just slept together a few times."

Oh right cause that makes the world of difference. I blink away more tears but a few of them manage to roll down my cheeks, "You have every right to do that, we aren't together anymore. Haven't been for about a year at this point." I whisper. If I talk any louder my voice will crack and I'll start to cry.

"That's the thing, I don't want to do that. It felt weird to be with someone that wasn't you. The whole time we were together all I could think of was you." George says a little louder than he was talking before, "I still love you Violet, why do you think I'm still wearing this damn ring?"

"Because you promised me that you'd never take it off." I say to him.

George rolls his eyes, "I only made that promise because I love you. And you can't tell me that you don't love me anymore Violet. I know you do."

I try to look anywhere but George. He steps closer to me and takes my hand in his. I try to pull away but he holds on tightly, "Even if I did still love you G... there's a war and we're fighting on opposite sides."

"If we were on opposite sides you wouldn't have come to my house to warn us that they were planning on setting it on fire." He says to me, "If we were on opposite sides you wouldn't have protected my sister from Greyback in those reeds."

"Did you know that it was Draco who was supposed to kill Dumbledore? And when he couldn't do it I offered to?" I say to him.

George's eyes flash with confusion and hurt but only for a second, "You were doing it to protect Draco. That doesn't count."

"Course it counts George! How can you say that me pointing my wand at the leader of the Order is just something that I had to do?"

"Because it was something that you just had to do!" George says back to me raising his voice.

I look back at the crowd of people to make sure that no one is listening in on our conversation. "I'm a Death Eater George." I snap at him.

"That doesn't matter!"

"Course it matters!"

"Bill was attacked by Greyback and could very well turn into a werewolf and Fleur is still going to marry him because it doesn't matter!" George says very fast.

"Bill and Fleur are getting married? What's the age difference between the two of them?" I say to George.

He rolls his eyes, "You're missing the point! They're going to make it work, why can't we?"

I don't say anything for a good long time. I want to say that we can, course we can work things out. And the look of desperation on George's face tells me that he will do anything and everything to get me back. But I can't. They'll kill him. I'd rather have him alive with a broken heart then dead.

"Because..." I whisper softly, "Because I don't love you anymore..." A lie. The biggest lie I've ever said in my entire life. I can't look at him in the eye.

George's voice cracks, "You... don't say that Violet."

I look from my feet into his eyes. He's got tears streaming down his face, his eyes are full of desperation, "I don't love you anymore George." I say. I try to put as much confidence in my words as I can muster.

I know they hurt him. I know because he flinches with every word I say. He wipes his tears on his jacket, "You're just saying that. You've got to say that..."

"George. Listen to me-"

"You're just saying that!"

"George please! Don't make this harder than it is."

Tears are coming down both of our faces now. I pull the ring that George gave me off of my hand and put it in his. "I'm sorry George." I whisper.

George looks at the ring that I've placed in his hand and looks back at me. I turn around and walk away before he can say anything else. Before he can see the pain in my face, the sobs that I'm trying to keep under control.

I walk right up to Draco and grab onto his arm. "Violet? What's wrong? Are you alright?"

I apparate us both back home and without saying anything more I shove Draco out of my room and lock the door. Then, and only then do I allow myself to cry, scream, destroy everything in my room like some failed attempt of trying to get control over myself. I rip the necklace that George got for me during third year off my neck and throw it out my open bedroom window with a scream.

I throw myself onto my bed and scream into my pillow, my screams turn into sobs. All I can see is George's face looking at me with complete and utter betrayal. I hate this fucking war, I hate my fucking family. I hate myself.


	172. Part 7, Chapter 1

"My Lord, the Order of the Phoenix intends to move Harry Potter from his current place of safety on Saturday next at nightfall," Severus says to the Dark Lord.

Everyone at the table stiffened, the two late Death Eaters are everyone's main focus at this point. Draco holds onto my hand under the table for moral support.

"Saturday... at nightfall..." The Dark Lord repeats slowly. Everyone sort of shifts in their seats but I can't tell if its because they are eager or they are nervous. We all watch as the Dark Lord twists his mouth into a smile, "Good, very good. And this information comes from-"

"From the source, we discussed," Severus says matter of factly.

"My Lord..." Yaxley has now leaned forward to see the Dark Lord at his spot at the table, Draco squeezes my hand tighter. Everyone shifts to look at him, "My Lord, I have heard differently."

Everyone shifts their gaze to the Dark Lord for a moment before looking back at Yaxley, "Dawlish, the Auror, let it slip that Potter will not be moved until the thirteenth, the night before the boy turns seventeen" Yaxley continues. I glance over at Severus who is smiling now.

"My source told me that there are plans to lay a false trail, this must be it. No doubt a Confundus charm has been placed upon Dawlish. It would not be the first time, he is known to be susceptible." Snape says, his smile doesn't falter which makes me feel sick almost.

"I assure you, my Lord, Dawlish seemed quite certain," Yaxley says.

Severus rolls his eyes, "If he has been Confunded, naturally he is certain." He says. I flick my attention to the body that is spinning in the air high above the table, When Severus speaks I bring my attention back down to him, "I assure you Yaxley, the Auror Office will play nu further part in the protection of Harry Potter. The order believes that we have infiltrated the Ministry."

Mister Pucey, Adrian's father giggles to himself a little, "The Order's got one thing right then eh?" His laugh echoes throughout the entire room, no one laughs with him.

The Dark Lord looks up at the body in the air and watches it casually like he's looking through an old photo book.

"My Lord," Yaxley says trying to get his attention again, "Dawlish believes an entire party of Aurors will be used to transfer the boy-"

The Dark Lord raises his hand and Yaxley immediately stops talking. The Dark Lord shifts his attention to Snape, "Where are they going to hide the boy next?"

"At the home of one of the Order." Snape says, "The place, according to the source, has been given every protection that the Order and the ministry together could provide. I think that there is little chance of taking him once he is there my Lord. Unless, of course, the ministry has fallen before next Saturday, which might give us the opportunity to discover and undo enough of the enchantments to break through the rest."

The Burrow. Course it would be the Burrow. The Weasleys are in danger. George is in danger... I can't think about that, I can't love him anymore. I told him I don't love him so I've got to stop loving him. I never should have given him that ring back. I want it back.

"Well, Yaxley?" The Dark Lord says, breaking into my thoughts, "Will the Ministry have fallen by next Saturday?"

Everyone shifts back to Yaxley like we are watching a very slow quidditch match, "My Lord, I have good news on that score. I have – with difficulty and after great effort – succeeded in placing an Imperius curse upon Pius Thicknesse."

The room takes and releases a big breath like one collective unit. Dolohov claps Yaxley on the back. The Dark Lord speaks again, "It is a start. But Thicknesse is only one man. Scrimgeour must be surrounded by our people before I act. One failed attempt on the minister's life will set me back a long way."

A cat's meow rings through the room. Everyone stops what they are doing and looks at the door. Fergus has made his way downstairs and is now sitting casually in the middle of the doorframe. Draco, Aunt Narcissa, and a very ill-looking Uncle Lucius all look at me. I dunno if I should get up and get Fergus or if I should say in my seat.

Yaxley shakes it off and continues, "Yes - my Lord, that is true – but you know, as Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Thicknesse has regular contact not only with the Minister himself but also with the Heads of all other Ministry departments. It will, I think, be easy now that we have such a high-ranking official under our control to subjugate the others and then they can all work together to bring Scrimgeour down."

"As long as our friend Thicknesse is not discovered before he has converted the rest," The Dark Lord says, "At any rate, it remains unlikely that the ministry will be mine before next Saturday. If we cannot touch the boy at his destination, then it must be done while he travels."

"We are at an advantage there my Lord." Yaxley says confidently, too confidently for my taste honestly, "We now have several people planted within the Department of magical transport. If Potter apparates or uses the Floo Network we shall know immediately."

"He will not do either." Severus says, "The Order is eschewing any form of transport that is controlled or regulated by the ministry, they mistrust everything to do with the place."

"All the better." The Dark Lord says, "He will have to move in the open. Easier to take by far." The Dark Lord looks up at the person floating and spinning in the sky again. I think I recognize her but I can't exactly pin it. "I shall attend to the boy in person. There have been too many mistakes where Harry Potter is concerned. Some of them have been my own. That Potter lives is due more to my errors than to his triumphs."

The Dark Lord looks around the table at each of us in turn, like he is blaming us all for the fact that Potter is still alive. "I have been so careless, and so have been thwarted by luck and chance, those wreckers of all but the best-laid plans. But I know better now. I understand those things that I did not understand before. I must be the one to kill Harry Potter."

Then, a scream. Long, dreadful, coming from below our feet. Draco jumps in his seat and squeezes my hand tighter.

"Wormtail." The Dark Lord says in his carefree sort of voice, "have I not spoken to you about keeping our prisoner quiet?"

"Yes m-my Lord." The sad excuse of a wizard that is further down the table gasps. There's just something about Pettigrew that makes me want to punch him in the face. He scrambles up from his chair and scampers out of the room like a nervous squirrel.

"As I was saying," the Dark Lord continues casually, "I understand better now. I shall need, for instance, to borrow a wand from one of you before I go kill Potter."

Everyone shifts in their chairs again, people look around as if they were just asked to lay down and die.

"No volunteers?" He says a little more sternly than he was talking before, "Let's see... Lucius, I see no reason for you to have a wand anymore."

Uncle Lucius looks up from his lap, his skin is a sickly yellow colour. Azkaban did him no favours. "My Lord?" He says in a frail, raspy voice.

"You're wand, Lucius. I require your wand."

"I..." Uncle Lucius looks at Aunt Narcissa. Draco tightens his grip on my hand to the point that I can feel his nails pierce my skin a little. Aunt Narcissa doesn't move her head, she stays staring at the wall on the other side of the room. I don't know what she did but Uncle Lucius moves his hand out of her robes and hands his wand down the table to the Dark Lord. When the wand reaches the Dark Lord he holds it up in front of him and looks at it carefully.

"What is it?" The Dark Lord asks.

"Elm, my Lord." Uncle Lucius whispers.

"And the core?"

"Dragon – dragon heartstring."

A weak wand in my opinion but I keep my mouth shut.

"Good." The Dark Lord takes his wand out and compares the length between the two. Uncle Lucius shifts a little and the Dark Lord stops and looks at him, "Give you my wand Lucius?"

A few people snicker further down the table, "I have given you your liberty Lucius, is that not enough for you? But I have noticed that you and your family seem less than happy of late... what is it about my presence in your home that displeases you, Lucius?"

Ask me that question and I could go on for hours. Throwing yourself into my childhood home, bringing people into my home, destroying my entire life, forcing me to break up with the love of my life in my feeble attempts to save him...

"Nothing – nothing my Lord!" Uncle Lucius stutters. He looks down the line at Aunt Narcissa, Draco, and I.

"Such lies Lucius..." The Dark Lord's soft voice makes my Uncle stiffen in his seat. My Aunt doesn't move she just stares right at the wall like she's been doing the entire time we've been here. Nagini slithers over to the Dark Lord and he starts to pet her mindlessly.

"Why do the Malfoys look so unhappy with their lot? Is my return, my rise to power, not the very thing they professed to desire for so many years?" The Dark Lord is staring right at my family now. Well, at my aunt, uncle, and Draco. He doesn't seem interested in my mother, father and me.

"Of course my Lord." Uncle Lucius practically whispers. He wipes sweat off of his face with a shaky hand, "We did desire it – we do."

A little voice screams in my head, 'I don't! I want you dead, I want you out of this house, out of my life!' Aunt Narcissa makes a noise that sounds like a mouse stuck in a trap. Draco looks from the body in the sky to the Dark Lord, to me, then back up in the sky.

"My Lord." My mother says from beside me, she leans forward as if trying to get as close to the Dark Lord as possible. It's weird not seeing her at his side honestly. "It is an honour to have you here, in our family's house. There can be no higher pleasure."

The Dark Lord nods a few times, "No higher pleasure. That means a great deal Bellatrix, from you."

My mother giggles with happiness she looks at me and I notice that she's got tears in her eyes, "My Lord knows I speak nothing but the truth!" She says gleefully.

"No higher pleasure... even compared with the happy event that I hear, has taken place in your family this week?"

My family and I all sort of look at each other in confusion, "Sorry my Lord, But we don't know what you mean." I say looking at him.

"I'm talking about your cousin Violet. Your niece Bellatrix, and yours Lucius, and Narcissa. She has just married the werewolf Remus Lupin. You must be so proud." The Dark Lord says, I can hear the smile in his voice so I don't have to look over at him.

Remus? And Tonks? My head spins. Remus was dating Sirius when he died, which was yeah two years ago give or take but now to marry his cousin? My other cousin? A few people laugh and hit their fists against the table, I can hear a few wolf whistles as well.

"She is no niece of ours, my Lord." My mother spits, "We – Narcissa and I have never set eyes on our sister since she married that Mudblood. This brat has nothing to do with any of us, nor any beast she marries."

"What say, you Violet? Will you babysit the cubs?" The Dark Lord says to me.

I laugh, "I'm more of a cat person myself." I hate myself for saying it, but it seems to bring a slight smile to the Dark Lord's face. Everyone laughs rather loud, my aunt Narcissa looks like I just punched her in the gut but just for a second before she resumes her deadpan stare at the wall.

"Enough." The Dark Lord says stroking Nagini's head, "Enough..." The laughter dies at once. He looks at my family again, "Many of our oldest family trees become a little diseased over time. You must prune yours, must you not, to keep it healthy?"

"Yes my Lord, at the first chance!" My mother whispers breathlessly, like the thought of killing her own sister brings her an absurd amount of joy.

"You shall have it," The Dark Lord says with a nod, "And in your family, so in the world... we shall cut away the canker that infects us until only those of the true blood remain..." The Dark Lord raises my uncle's wand in the air casually and points it at the woman in the air, "Do you recognize our guest Severus?"

Everyone looks up at the captive now, I'm racking my brain trying to remember where I've seen her before. "Severus! Help me!" she begs. Her voice... holy shit! It's professor Burbage, the muggle studies teacher at Hogwarts.

"Ah, yes," Snape says coldly, he looks away from her.

The Dark Lord looks over at Draco and I, then at Emma, Clarissa, Miles, Cassius, Henrietta, Graham, Adrian, Miriam, "What about our younger Death Eaters hmm? Recognize her?"

"Like I would take her class." Graham spits, "Dirty muggle lover."

The Dark Lord smiles, "For those who have not been at Hogwarts in the past say, twenty years, we are joined here tonight by Charity Burbage who, until recently, taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

People all across the table whisper and laugh amongst themselves. The Dark Lord ignores it all and continues to speak, "Yes... Professor Burbage taught the children of witches and wizards all about muggles... how they are not so different from us..."

Mister Warrington, Cassius' father spits on the floor, which means that Norby is going to have to come up here and clean the floor after we're done here.

"Severus... Please.... Please..." Professor Burbage begs my old potions teacher but he does nothing.

"Silence." The Dark Lord flicks my uncle's wrist again and Professor Burbage chokes as if she was gagged by something. "Not content with corrupting and polluting the mids of wizarding children, last week Professor Burbage wrote an impassioned defence of Mudbloods in the Daily Prophet. Wizards, she says, must accept these thieves of their knowledge and magic. The dwindling of the pure-bloods is, says Professor Burbage, a most desirable circumstance... she would have us all mate with muggles... or, no doubt, werewolves."

No one laughs this time around. For the first time of the night, the Dark Lord is showing emotion. Anger. He spins Professor Burbage around in the air a few times before, 

"Avada Kedavra."


	173. Part 7, Chapter 2

On the night of the planned attack, Draco and I stayed back with my Aunt Narcissa. No matter what my aunt says I don't stop pacing. I know for a fact that George is out there right now, battling to protect Harry, risking his life for the greater good and I'm not there to protect him. I can't be there to protect him.

There's a loud crack in the dining room. The three of us look at each other before running from the living room into the dining room to see who came back. Severus is standing there looking at us, "They used Polyjuice potion to disguise themselves as Potter. Seven of them. I think I managed to get one..." He says breathlessly. He looks at me and I don't know what I saw in his face but I run from the room.

"Violet! Violet don't do anything stupid!" Draco shouts from behind me. I sprint up the stairs and go to close my bedroom door but Draco sticks his foot in the gap before I can close it.

"I've got to go. It could be George. He could be dead Draco!" I spin around and look at him. My hair sticks to my lip as I do that. I don't have to look in a mirror to know that I look absolutely crazy right now.

"Go then. I'll cover for you." Draco says. I look at him for reassurance and he nods a couple of times, "Tell me if you see Potter. Make sure he's alright."

"Draco are you sure? I don't want to get you in any trouble with Him." I say staring at my cousin's face.

"Make sure he's alright Violet, I'm serious."

As soon as those words leave Draco's mouth I apparate away. I land in front of the Burrow, which seems to have been rebuilt nicely after the fires last year. I can see Harry, Ginny, Hagrid, Hermione, and Remus all standing outside. I take a deep breath and walk out of the shadows.

Instantly all of their wands are pointed at me, "It's me! It's Violet!" I call out.

Only Ginny falters and lowers her wand, everyone else stands their ground, "Right! Likely story, sending Violet LeStrange out here to take care of Potter." A man spits a man that I don't know.

"Please, I heard that someone was hit... I came to make sure you were all alright." I say stepping forward carefully.

Ginny looks at the people around her, I can't hear what she says but they all look rather annoyed, "What did George give Violet the first Christmas that they were interested in each other?" Ginny calls out to me.

"A silver necklace with a snake on the front, if you used alohomora on it then it opens to reveal a red lion. I gave him the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes sign that's on his door."

Ginny smiles a bit then looks at the people around her once more. She then comes rushing over to me and takes my hands in hers. "It's George who's been hurt. Come inside."

I push past Harry and the others that are waiting outside the front door for whatever it is that they're waiting for and follow Ginny into the living room. Fred is sitting on the floor beside George, Molly is cleaning the wound that's on the side of his head. The rag she's using is soaked in bright red blood. I instantly break down when I see him, which causes Fred to turn around and look at who's making all the noise.

"What the bloody hell is she doing here?" Fred says angrily. His words cut me but I stand my ground.

"Is he alright?" I choke on my words.

Fred softens almost instantly. He comes over to me and wraps me in a big hug, "I'm sorry... just on the defence right now. He'll be alright."

I look at his face and put my hands on either side of his head, "Are you alright? You're not hurt too, are you? I don't think I could handle that."

Fred smiles a bit, "No, no. I'm alright. Everyone else is alright too I think." He looks over at Molly and George, "Ron and Bill aren't back yet..." He whispers to me.

I hug Fred tightly again, "I should have warned you all, I should have sent something to you saying that they were planning an attack or something. It's all my fault." I whisper so only he can hear me.

"None of this is your fault, Violet. Don't beat yourself up about it. It's Snape who sent that hex towards George's head, not you." He strokes my hair as he speaks.

"Can I... can I see him?" I say looking at George's unconscious body laying on the couch.

Fred pauses, "I don't think that's the best idea, Violet. George was drunk for three days straight after you said you didn't love him anymore. I don't think he wants to see you."

Molly looks over and gestures me to come closer to him, "You really shouldn't be here darling." She says to me softly, "George told me what happened between you two at the funeral."

I sit down on the floor, where Fred was sitting moments ago and hold George's hand in my own. "I had to say it. He wouldn't have let it go if I didn't. He has to forget about me, it's not safe for us. We can't love each other." I whisper.

Fred puts his hand on my shoulder and hands me a small cup of water. He sits on the coffee table behind me and rubs my back a bit.

Molly finishes cleaning George's wound and starts to wrap it up with gauze, "But you do love him..." Molly says softly.

I look at him with my eyes full of tears, "Course I love him." I look back at George and very gently brush the hair out of his face, "I love you dummy." I whisper.

Molly looks at me, "You two are going to drive me mad I swear."

I look at her and smile a bit, "You can't tell him that I was here." I turn around and look at Fred as well, "If you do then he'll just get hurt all over again."

Molly scoffs, "Just stay here till he wakes up and you two can have a real conversation. No more lies."

"No I agree with her mum. Especially with George hurt like this, it'll all be too much," Fred says. He pats my back again, "Not that I don't want you two together or anything. I'm just trying to protect you both from each other."

Molly clicks her tongue, "Says the one that told me the girl he loves was just a friend."

Fred and I both look at her with confusion, "I'm your mother Fred, I know when you're smitten for someone, and you were smitten for that Emma girl."

"The woman can't tell us apart but she can tell when I fancy someone." Fred mumbles. I laugh a little and Molly rolls her eyes.

"Hold on. Do you still fancy her?" I ask Fred looking away from George for a second.

Fred looks at the ground and smiles to himself a little, "It's more than that Vi. I'm pretty sure I'm in love with her."

Fred looks up from the floor and makes eye contact with me. He laughs once he sees the dumb smile i have on my face. "Once this is all over I'm going to need you to grow a pair and tell her how you feel alright?" I say, trying desperately not to tell him that Emma loves him too. It's not my place to say.

Fred laughs again, "Trust me, when this is all over I'm never letting that woman out of my sight ever again."

George stirs a little, ending my conversation with Fred. "It's them! Mum Bill and Ron!" Ginny shouts from outside. Molly and Fred rush out of the house together leaving me alone with George. I set the now empty cup on the coffee table and brush my thumb against George's face softly.

"You're a complete idiot." I whisper, "A complete fucking idiot, out here getting your ears hexed off." I rub my lip over his rather chapped lips and smile, "And drinking? For days straight? I am not worth getting yourself that sick G... Course you dunno that I'm here do you? You probably never want to see me again, Fred's right, I shouldn't be here, I can't be breaking your heart all over again..."

I lean forward and kiss him on his forehead as carefully as I can, "Don't hurt yourself anymore please, my heart can't handle that." I pause, "You're the love of my life dummy."

I get up from my spot on the floor, George's eyes flicker open for a minute. He looks at me, confused, concerned, scared, in pain. I smile at him a little and apparate myself out of the Burrow and back into my bedroom at the Manor.

Draco is sitting on my bed, he stands up as soon as I get into the room, "That wasn't long. Are you alright?"

I nod a bit, "He's lost an ear but he's not dead so that's alright."

Draco sighs, "That's good... that's good yeah..." He goes over to the door and pulls it open.

"Harry's good too. Not even a scratch." I say to him.

Draco looks at me and smiles before closing the door behind him.


	174. Part 7, Chapter 3

For the next couple of days, all we did was talk about the ministry. It was getting to the point where all I thought about was the damned minister and just getting it over and done with. Killing the bastard.

Like right now, we are all waiting in the dining room for Yaxley to come back and tell us that it worked that the minister is dead. Well, Draco is sitting around the table waiting for the news. I'm stationed outside of the dining room in the small hall between the dining room and the kitchen. I've got one of the twin's extendable ears slithered through the door so I can listen in. I know that if the ministry falls, if the minister dies, they will go to the Burrow immediately and I can't take that chance. I can't lose George.

I can't think clearly, all I can picture is George covered in blood on his own couch. I never want to see him like that ever again. I can never let him look like that ever again.

There's a crack, applause, I listen carefully, "It is done, my Lord. The ministry is ours."

CRACK!

I'm at the Burrow, people everywhere. There's a massive white tent set up and music blaring. I push my way through the crowd, panicky, stressed.

"Violet?" Fred comes over to me, "Violet, you can't be here. George'll see you." He says looking at me.

"No that's not... the ministry has fallen, Scrimgeour is dead, they're coming," I say fast. A few people around us look over.

"The what? What are you talking about? Who's coming?" Fred asks a million questions but I don't have time. We don't have time.

I push Fred out of the way and stand on the table that's closest to me. I spot George in the crowd dancing very close to a very attractive girl that is no doubt related to Fleur. "HEY!" I scream. The music stops, everyone looks at me. George looks like someone just kicked him in the groin, "The Ministry has fallen," I shout, "Scrimgeour is dead, They're coming."

The crowd erupts into panic, screams, people running every which way, apparating away as fast as they could.

I hop down from the table and Fred is there to catch me, "Don't let anything happen to him. Don't anything happen to you." I say panicky.

Fred nods, "Course yeah. Are you going to be alright?" I can barely hear him over the screams of people around us.

"Violet!" George shoves his way over to us, knocking down a little kid in the process.

I throw my arms around George and hug him quickly, "You've got to get out, take care of each other." George looks at me with eyes full of fear. "Kiss me," I say to him.

"What? You said..."

I cut him off, "I know what I said, but the world is ending and we both might die, or never see each other again, or one of us will lose another fucking ear or a leg and I'm fucking in love with you so kiss me!" I practically shout.

George wastes no more time, he pulls me in by my waist and kisses me with so much passion, love, fear, desperation almost.

There's a loud crash behind us and I know that the Death Eaters are here now, I pull away from him, "I love you." I whisper before I run into the mess that was once Bill and Fleur's wedding.

Ginny is fighting off a Death Eater, I pull out my wand and send him soaring backwards, "Ginny, get the fuck out of here!" I shout. I pull her to her feet and she goes running over to Fred and George, I glance over and the three of them aren't there anymore so I assume that they've apparated away.

I look around the room wildly, Molly and Arthur are standing back to back fighting off a few Death Eaters. I stun one of the Death Eaters without drawing attention to myself, the other two Death Eaters look around for who did that which gives Molly and Arthur enough time to get the upper hand and attack the two.

I shoot a few things out of my wand that are essentially harmless so that it looks like I'm participating in the raid but I make sure to always have my eye out for people that I love. Then I apparate away, back to the Manor, into the dining room.

Draco is standing over a man, he's screaming, practically slithering around on the ground in front of Draco, "You called me back for this? To tell me that Harry Potter's escaped again?" The Dark Lord snaps, nothing about his voice is carefree anymore. "Draco, give Rowle another taste of our displeasure... do it or feel my wrath yourself!"

My wand is still clutched firmly in my hand, I'll kill the Dark Lord myself if he even considers pointing his wand at Draco.

Draco takes a shaky breath and tightens his grip on his wand, "CRUCIO" He shouts. The curse hits the man... Rowle... and he screams and thrashes on the ground again.

"Again." The Dark Lord shouts.

"CRUCIO"

"Again."

"CRUCIO"

Draco is panting, staring down at Rowle. I step out of the darkness that's around the room, "My Lord... were we successful?" I say knowing full well that I was the reason it didn't work.

The Dark Lord turns towards me angrily, but when he sees who it is he softens just a bit, "No, we were not successful. That damned child managed to escape."

"I am sorry my Lord. All that hard work for nothing." I try my hardest not to smile, pulling a rather sad face in my opinion. Draco looks over at me then back down a Rowle.

"Draco, you've done well. Head off with Violet."

Draco comes practically running over to me and we leave the dining room and head upstairs together. Once my door is locked with charms and the sound sealing charm is in full effect I look at Draco.

"You alright?" I ask him.

Draco scoffs and looks away from me, "No."

"Yeah... me neither."


	175. Part 7, Chapter 4

don't know how he's done it but by the middle of August, the Dark Lord has managed to get Severus Snape to be the new Headmaster at Hogwarts.

"I don't think I can do it, go back there. With him watching over me." Draco says. He's been pacing in my room for the past twenty minutes stressing about school.

"It'll be safer for you, having Severus as your Headmaster," I say to Draco.

Draco stops, glares at me, then continues to pace back and forth. "Have you heard from George since the attack at his brother's wedding?" He asks trying to change the subject, get his mind off of things.

Truth is, I have. George sent his Patronus to find me about three days after the attack. It said, 'we're safe. Thank you for helping Ginny. I love you.' It freaked me out honestly, I didn't expect to hear his voice, I never heard of people using Patronuses to send messages.

"No, haven't heard a thing. He should be alright though... ah, fuck." My arm starts to burn and by the sudden stop in Draco's movements his arm flares up as well. We look at each other for a moment before I pull a black sweater over top of my tank top and follow Draco downstairs and into the meeting room.

"Violet, you along with your mother will accompany me to Germany." The Dark Lord says turning around and looking at Draco and me.

"Course my Lord," I say, instantly shutting down part of my personality that I only really show Draco at this point.

"Go get changed into something presentable, never come to a Death Eater meeting looking this shabby ever again." The Dark Lord says looking at me up and down with annoyance. I hurry back upstairs and get changed into dress pants and a blouse before returning back to the dining room.

My mother is already standing beside the Dark Lord waiting for me. I go over to them to apologize for my tardiness but my mother just grabs a hold of my arm and we are gone.

As soon as we land in the street people run in opposite directions. My mother wraps her arm around the Dark Lord's arm and he leads us down the street to a small white house. My mother skips, literally skips, and waves her wand in the air while laughing wildly as we walk. I walk beside the Dark Lord, holding my head up high, trying my hardest not to show any sign of weakness or fear. It must look crazy to the wizards on the street. The Dark Lord walking with two versions of Bellatrix by his side.

When we get to the little white house the Dark Lord pounds his fist on the door. It takes a minute but a very beautiful woman answers. She's quite a bit shorter than me, with her blonde hair pulled into a tight ponytail on the back of her head.

The Dark Lord doesn't give her a chance to speak, "Gregorovitch?" He says calmly. My mother giggles, she's got her wand pointed at her temple and is slowly twisting it around on her temple.

The woman shakes her head no and tries to close the door. The Dark Lord doesn't like that and he forces the door open and steps inside. My mother and I follow. Her house is neat, there's a toy broom shoved in a corner. She's got a kid.

"I want Gregorovitch." The Dark Lord says again, he takes his wand in his hand and holds it low. My mother giggles wildly.

"Er wohnt hier nicht mehr!" She cries out, "He no live here! He no live here! I know him not!"

The Dark Lord doesn't like that very much. My mother raises her wand and starts waving it around in the direction of the woman, she slowly walks circles around her, "The Dark Lord wants answers." My mother sings.

"Where is he?" The Dark Lord says coldly.

"Das weiss ich nicht! He move! I know not, I know not!" She cries.

My mother very dramatically bends over so that she's talking right into the woman's ear, "Wrong answer." She shouts.

The Dark Lord raises his wand and the woman screams. My mother spins around, "Violet! You're wand!" She shrieks.

I pull my wand out and point it at the woman, I follow in my mother's shadow and stalks the woman like she's wounded prey and I'm a vulture. Two little kids come running into a side room which makes my mother scream with glee.

The woman pulls on the kids arms and uses her body to shield them, the Dark Lord points my uncle's wand right at the woman's forehead, "Avada Kedavra!" The Dark Lord shouts. Green light shoots the woman in the forehead and she falls limply to the ground.

The children scream, the Dark Lord nods towards my mother and she squeals, "Oh thank you, my Lord!" She points her wand at the youngest child, a little boy about the age of five or so and giggles, "Oh what to do, what to do!" She scratches the top of her head with the tip of her wand and contorts her face.

"Come now Bella, get yours finished so Violet can have her turn." The Dark Lord says watching my mother's behaviour.

"Sectumsempra!" She cries, the little boy's face and chest instantly are cut wide open, he screams and falls to the floor convulsing, "Sevvy taught me that one, my Lord. I'm quite a fan!"

The little boy's sister is screaming bloody murder, she crawls across her mother's body and tries to stop her brother's bleeding with her shirt sleeves. But it doesn't work, it's far too late. The little boy's body shakes one last time and lies still.

My mother and the Dark Lord both look at me as if telling me to get it done and over with. I go over to the little girl and crouch down to my knees so I'm looking at her in the face. "It won't hurt I promise. Then you'll be with your mummy and brother alright?" I whisper.

The girl who probably has no idea what I'm saying and can't understand English just looks at me with wide eyes. She reminds me of myself whenever Draco got hurt when we were growing up, it kills me. I stand up straight, point my wand at her, "Avada Kedavra" I say quietly. The stream of light hits the little girl in the chest and she collapses over top of her brother's bloody body.

I turn around and walk over to the Dark Lord. He grabs onto my arm with so much force that I stumble a little bit, "Show mercy like that again and I'll kill you." He spits at me.

He turns swiftly out the door and my mother and I rush to follow him. My mother grabs onto him and I take her hand and in one swift movement, we are all back at the Manor.

My mother spins around and looks at me, "You disgust me." She shrieks.

"Maybe you're more like your aunt and uncle than I thought." The Dark Lord says casually.

I don't know why, but it hurts, hearing the Dark Lord say that. It's not like I ever really tried to get his approval on anything I've ever done... but maybe I have? "Forgive me, my Lord. Please allow me to regain your faith." I find myself saying, almost begging. I don't like who I've become.


	176. Part 7, Chapter 5

The next day during afternoon tea, Yaxley apparates into the living room, startling aunt Narcissa to the point that she spills her tea everywhere. "Where is the Dark Lord?" He asks panting.

"Nice of you to stop by Yaxley." Aunt Narcissa grumbles while cleaning herself off.

My mother giggles as she watches her sister fiddle with the spilt tea, "My Lord is preparing for another attempt at Gregorovitch. What can I do for you?" My mother says putting her teacup down on the coffee table in front of her. She stands and stalks over to Yaxley who suddenly looks very uncomfortable.

"Well I – I feel more comfortable speaking with the Dark Lord Bella, you understand." He says shifting his weight between his feet a little. Draco and I look at each other from across the room. I can tell that Yaxley's presence has put him on edge.

"That's Bellatrix to you, you old bat! Now tell me what it is that you need. If you summon him without a logical reason he'll kill you dead!" My mother says with a mixture of joy and fear. It's strange, now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen my mother scared. It's sort of impressive honestly.

"I've done it. I found where they are hiding. Where the boy is hiding." Yaxley says. A smile forms on his face.

"We've heard those words from you before Yaxley." My uncle says rising from his seat.

Yaxley rolls his eyes, "You don't speak to me Malfoy. The Dark Lord put you on a timeout and took your wand. Let the adults speak." He spits.

My uncle takes offence but he doesn't say anything back. Draco's knuckles turn white because he's gripping the handle of his teacup so tightly. "Lucius has a point Yaxley." My mother says.

"He's not there now but he may come back. It's best if we send people to stay there." Yaxley explains.

My mother looks at my aunt Narcissa like she's asking for her opinion but my aunt stays silent, which seems to be the theme as of late, "And where may he be returning to?" My mother says, she squints her eyes a little and crosses her arms over her chest.

"Number twelve Grimmauld place. I assume that you and Narcissa are familiar with it." Yaxley says matter of factly.

I do my best not to spit my drink everywhere. If Harry, Ron, and Hermione were staying at number twelve Grimmauld place then where are the rest of the Weasleys staying?

My mother's eyes light up as she turns around to look at my aunt. Then she takes Yaxley's hand and pulls him out of the room and down the hall.

Draco and I look at each other for a moment then we get up and go hide in my room.

"Where do you supposed number twelve Grimmauld place is?" Draco asks me when it's safe to do so.

"I seriously doubt that they are still going to be there. Hermione's with them, she's got a good head on her shoulders." I say back to him.

Draco looks terrified but honestly, that's just been his face for the entire summer. "This summer feels like it's been going on for years." He grumbles.

I flop myself onto my bed and Draco does the same. We lie there in silence for a long time. "I'm going to miss you this year dude," I say to him.

"Oh like you didn't miss me last year?" Draco jokes.

I pull the pillow out from under my head and hit him with it. He laughs and rolls away. "I just want all of this to be over you know? So we can go and live our lives with who we want to live them with." I say

"You mean so you can go off and live with George Weasley."

I roll my eyes but a smile spreads across my lips when I hear George's name. "Who says I want to go live with George?"

"You're kidding me, right? I bet you a hundred galleons that as soon as this shit is over you'll be moving out with him." Draco laughs.

"Nah, you and I will get a place and I'll visit him on the weekends."

Draco rolls back around so he can see me, "I know you're joking but I really want that to happen."

I turn around so I can see him, "Who's to say that won't actually happen?"

When Draco left for school the entire house seemed much quieter. I mean despite the fact that there is constant screaming from the basement and everything. Ever since I killed that little girl in Germany, I've been having to fight for my position as one of the Dark Lord's favourites again. It's safer that way, I'd rather be one of his favourites than one that he despises.

But fighting for that position has meant that I've been at the forefront of torture and killing over the past couple of months. My kill count is at forty-seven right now. Which means that in the past two years I've taken forty-seven lives. Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl. I haven't heard anything about the Weasleys in a long time. I don't know if that makes me feel better or if it makes me nervous.

The Dark Lord hasn't allowed me to sit in on most meetings as of late either. I think he knows that it was me to tipped off the Weasleys about his attack but he can't prove it. I think that's the only reason that I'm still alive.

My aunt is now a shell of the woman she once was. She barely smiles anymore, barley blinks even, she just floats around the house quietly and stares at walls. My uncle hasn't said much either. He tries to avoid the Dark Lord as much as he possibly can given that he essentially lives in our house. I've been alone. No one even looks at me anymore. Unless it's the people at my feet begging for their lives to be spared.

The Dark Lord has been plotting the movements of Harry Potter, he's nervous but he won't tell anyone why exactly. Or if he did, he's not telling me anything. It puts me on edge, knowing that the Dark Lord is nervous. I think I like it better when he's angry at everything.


	177. Part 7, Chapter 6

Christmas came and went. Draco stayed at Hogwarts, mostly because I told him to. But his parents forced him to come back during Easter holidays.

"How is it? At Hogwarts?" I ask him as we are reading together in the library.

Draco looks up at his book for a moment, "Awful, dark. Snape makes a horrible headmaster." He whispers.

I look back at my book and flip a few pages, "But you're safe right? No one's hurt you or anything?"

Before he could answer there was a loud crash outside the door and heavy footsteps. Draco and I look at each other before getting up and walking out of the library. Fenrir Greyback, along with a few other Death Eaters are dragging a line of people behind him. I recognize most of them immediately, Dean Thomas, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley... and a very swollen faced looking boy that has to be Harry Potter.

I glance over at Draco and he looks like he's about to be sick. "Violet, Draco. Come here please." My aunt calls out. We walk into the living room, past the wall of portraits.

Uncle Lucius stands from his chair and looks at my aunt, "What's this?" He says looking at Greyback and the others.

"They say they've got Potter. Violet, Draco, come here and look for yourself." Aunt Narcissa beckons us forward and we both take careful steps closer to Greyback and the others.

"I can't be sure Aunt Narcissa, I barely saw the boy at school," I say with an air of annoyance. As if the idea of being asked to identify him is pissing me off.

Aunt Narcissa studies me closely then rolls her eyes, "Fine then, Draco come here."

Draco steps forward and stands in between his parents, "Well Draco?" Uncle Lucius snaps.

I make eye contact with Hermione and Ron and nod once, just slightly so no one else notices. I trust Draco to do the right thing. He's got to do the right thing. "I can't – I can't be sure," Draco says nervously. I don't like him standing so close to Greyback. I don't like any of them standing so close to Greyback. If something happened to any of them I wouldn't know what to do with myself.

"Look carefully!" Uncle Lucius snaps, "Come closer son." Uncle Lucius claps his hand on the back of Draco's neck and forces him to come close to Harry's face. "Draco, if we are the ones who hand Potter over to the Dark Lord, everything will be forgiv-"

"Now, we won't be forgetting who actually caught him, I hope Mister Malfoy? Cause if we do..." Greyback focuses his eyes on me and licks his lips, it sends shivers down my spine, "I can always make arrangements to help you remember."

Uncle Lucius looks at Greyback, but Greyback's eyes are fixated on me with such focus that it feels he can see right through me. "Of course not, of course not!" Uncle Lucius looks back at Draco who looks very uncomfortable with everything going on. Ron has been staring at me from behind Greyback, begging with his eyes for me to do something. But I can't, if I do something we will all be killed.

"What did you do to him?" Uncle Lucius asks Greyback, "How did he get into this state?"

"That wasn't us." Greyback snaps

"Looks more like a Stinging jinx to me." Uncle Lucius moves forward a bit, "There's something there." He whispers, "It could be the scar, stretched tightly... Draco come here, look properly. What do you think?"

Draco, with the help of his father, steps forward, his nose nearly touching Harry's swollen face, "I don't know." Draco says matter of factly even though the two of us know exactly what he's doing.

"We've got to be sure Lucius." Aunt Narcissa says, she's got Harry's wand in her hands and is looking over it carefully, "Completely sure that it is Potter before we summon the Dark Lord... They say this is his." She's holding the wand out so that Uncle Lucius can see, "But it doesn't fit Ollivander's description... if we are mistaken if we call the Dark Lord here for nothing... Remember what he did to Rowle and Dolohov?"

"What about the Mudblood then?" Greyback growls. He pulls on the rope that they are all attached to and basically sends Harry soaring to the floor.

Aunt Narcissa smiles, "Yes – yes, she was in Madam Malkin's with Potter! I saw her picture in the Prophet! Look Draco isn't it the Granger girl!" She says excitedly.

Draco stutters, "I... maybe... yeah."

"But then that's the Weasley boy!" Uncle Lucius shouts, "Violet come here." He reaches out and pulls my arm, "You know the Weasleys better than any of us, it's one of them, isn't it? Potters friend?"

I'm staring into Ron's face, he looks terrified and I don't think that I look any better, "I dunno uncle, I can't be bothered trying to remember what each of those filthy blood traitors look like."

Ron's eyes glint with that Weasley charm and I nod at him once more.

"What is this? What's happened, Cissy?" My mother says from behind us. She walks over to us all glaring at Greyback with vicious intent, "This... this is that Mudblood girl. This is Granger?" She says staring into Hermione's face.

"Yes! Yes, this is Granger! And we think that this beside her is Potter! We've done it! Potter and his friends!"

"Potter!" my mother shrieks, I look at the trio's faces and I can tell that they are absolutely terrified of my mother like they should be honestly. She's a powerful witch with no conscious, and those two things don't mix very well, "Well then, the Dark Lord must be informed at once!" She turns to look at me, "Why didn't you do it sooner?" She pulls up her sleeve to show the Dark Mark on her arm, she was just about to touch it, to summon the Dark Lord.

"I was about to call him!" Uncle Lucius says. He wraps his hand around my mother's wrist preventing her from touching the Mark, "I shall summon him, Bella. Potter has been brought to my house and it is therefore upon my authority..."

"Your authority!" My mother screams, she pulls her arm away from my uncle but he hangs on tight, "You lost your authority when you lost your wand, Lucius! How dare you! Take your hands off of me!"

"This has nothing to do with you! You did not capture the boy!" Uncle Lucious says viciously.

Draco makes his way back over to me, we are standing a ways away from the adults fighting now, I have my wand in my hand just in case something happens.

"Begging your pardon Mister Malfoy," Greyback interrupts, "But it's us that caught Potter, and it's us that will be claiming the gold-"

"Gold!" My mother laughs, "Take your gold, filthy scavenger, what do I want with gold? I seek only the honour of his – of-"

Uncle Lucius has let go of my mother and has ripped his own sleeve up, ready to summon the Dark Lord.

"STOP!" My mother shrieks, "Do not touch it!, we shall all perish if the Dark Lord comes now!" She moves over to one of the snatchers, "What is it?"

"Sword." The snatcher grunts.

"Give it to me."

"It's not yorn Missus, it's mine, I reckon I found it."

My mother draws her wand and stuns the snatcher without a second thought. The other snatchers roar in anger, "What the hell do you think you're playing at woman!"

"Stupefy!" My mother screams, "Stupefy!" There were four of them and one of her but my mother stands there triumphantly, not a single hair out of place. She's got Greyback on his knees, the sword in one hand, her wand in the other. That's the type of power I want to be able to yield one day. I want to be able to bring the worlds most dangerous werewolf to his knees in fear. I can't help myself but smile at my mother's triumph.

She pulls his wand out of his hand, "Where did you get this sword?"

"How dare you? Release me, woman!" Greyback roars.

My mother raises the sword to his face, "Where did you get this sword!?" She shouts, "Snape sent it to my vault in Gringotts!"

"It was in their tent." Greyback snarls, "Release me!"

My mother waves her wand and Greyback gets up off the floor, he doesn't attack her and I can tell that he's a little on edge. He stalks around the couch, dragging his long fingernail along the back of it. He looks over at Draco and I and I subconsciously put myself between Draco and the werewolf, my wand gripped tightly in my hand. Greyback flashes his teeth at me and I raise my wand slightly.

"You two! Move this scum outside. Draco if you haven't got the guts to finish them off then let Violet do it." My mother barks at us.

"Don't speak to my son like that! Draco is just as powerful as Violet." My Aunt snaps. Draco and I move forward and levitate the three snatchers in the air.

"Of course he is Cissy," My mother says jokingly, "And you're just as good as me."

Draco rushes ahead of me and gets the front door open, I guide the three stunned snatchers out and onto the front lawn. One of uncle Lucius' peacocks comes over casually.

"What do you think is going to happen to them?" Draco says to me when the door is fully closed, "I tried to help, tried to tell them that it wasn't them, but..." He trails off and looks at me, there are tears building up in his eyes.

"You did your best Draco, I'm proud of you. It takes guts to stand up to your parents, believe me, I know." I stand over top of the snatchers and raise my wand, "Avada Kedavra!" I say almost casually. The life instantly leaves his eyes. I look over at Draco, "I'll do them all you don't have to worry about that."

Draco swallows and nods and watches me as I finish off the other two snatchers, "You do it so easily now..." He says quietly.

I look at him, "That was number fifty... I've killed fifty people in the past two years..." I say softly. I look back down at the bodies, "It's an awful thing to say but I'm sort of used to it by now." I walk over to him and put my hand on his shoulder, "Come on, they're going to get mad at us if we take too long."

Draco and I walk back into the Manor, instantly we hear screams, terrible, awful screams. Draco looks at me, "That's Hermione. Hermione Granger."

Then there's laughter, and shrieks, "And that's my mother." I whisper. We walk into the dining room together, Hermione is on the floor whithering around, my mother is shouting questions at her.

"Where did you get the sword! WHERE!" My mother screams, she's got the heel of her foot pressed onto Hermione's wrist, pinning it to the ground.

"We found it – we found it! – PLEASE!" Hermione cries. My mother slams her foot down on Hermione's arm.

"CRUCIO!" My mother screams, instantly Hermione's awful screaming fills the air again, she whithers around the floor, her back arching in pain. My mother sees me out of the corner of her eye and gestures me over to her, "Violet come here and hold her down for me." She snaps.

Draco looks at me with fear in his eyes but I go over with my head held high. My mother shows me where to stand and everything then moves her foot off of Hermione so I can replace it with mine. Hermione looks at me in the eyes, scared, hopeless, in pain, desperation.

"You're lying! Filthy Mudblood and I know it! You have been inside my vault at Gringotts! Tell the truth! TELL THE TRUTH!" My mother screams. She looks at me, "Do it, Violet. She stole from your family. Stole from your mother. DO IT!"

Hermione shakes her head and mumbles 'please no, please god no.' I raise my wand and point it at her, "CRUCIO!" I shout. Hermione screams in agony, louder than before. My mother screams with laughter.

My mother grabs the sword off the floor and brings the tip of it to Hermione's neck, "What else did you take? What else have you got? Tell me the truth or I swear, I shall run you through with this knife!"

My mother looks from Hermione to me and nods, "CRUCIO!" I shout again. Hermione screams and honestly, I want to scream too. My entire body feels like it's going to combust into flames but I don't let my mother see that. I can't hear her tell me that I'm worthless again. I need her approval.


	178. Part 7, Chapter 7

Uncle Lucius sends Draco down to the cellar where we've been keeping the other prisoners. He thinks that if the goblin can tell my mother that the sword is fake then we can summon the Dark Lord. And according to the goblin, the sword is in fact a fake, which means...

"And I think, we can dispose of the Mudblood. Greyback, take her if you want." My mother says now that's she's done with Hermione.

"NOOOOOOOO!" A voice, Ron's voice, the blithering idiot.

My mother and I spin around, "EXPELLIARMUS!" Ron and I shout at the same time, his spell hits my mother, her wand soars across the room and Harry catches it in mid-air. My spell hits Ron straight in the chest and his wand, or whoever's wand he has, goes soaring across the room.

Uncle Lucius, aunt Narcissa, Greyback, and Draco all join me in sending hexes and jinxes towards the two boys, not like I'm trying too hard of course.

"STOP OR SHE DIES!" My mother screams. Everyone stops and looks at my mother. She's got Hermione up on her feet, holding a silver dagger on her throat. "Drop your wands," she whispers now, deadly, "Drop them, or we'll see exactly how filthy her blood is." The two boys look at her stunned for a moment. My mother pushes the knife into Hermione's throat more and little droplets of blood show up, "I said, drop them." She hisses

"Alright!" Harry shouts. He tosses my mother's wand to the floor. The two of them raise their hands in surrender.

"Draco, go pick up that wand. Violet dear get mine." My mother hisses. Draco goes running across the room to get the one that I sent flying out of Ron's hands. I walk over, staring at Ron and Harry as I pick up my mother's wand. I don't turn my back to them. I know they can't hurt me, won't hurt me, but I make sure that they are always in my line of sight just in case.

"Now." My mother says with an air of confidence, "Cissy, I think we ought to tie these little heroes up again while Greyback takes care of Miss Mudblood. I am sure the Dark Lord will not begrudge you the girl Greyback, after what you have done tonight."

As soon as those words left her mouth there was a grinding noise from above, we all look up just in time to see the great big chandelier start to fall out of the sky. I jump out of the way, my mother throws Hermione to the floor and jumps just a second before the crystal chandelier crashes to the floor. It falls on top of Hermione and the goblin who was still holding onto the sword.

Ron runs over to the chandelier, Harry looks at Draco and attacks him, trying to get the wand out of his hand. I go over and pull Harry off of him, slipping my mother's wand into Harry's hand as I do so. Harry looks at me shocked for a second before he points both the wands at Greyback and shouts, "Stupefy!"

My mother jumps up to her feet again, wielding the silver dagger. My aunt Narcissa has her wand pointed at the doorway, "Dobby!" She shrieks. Even my mother jumps at the sound of her sister's voice. I spin around and look at Dobby, my old house-elf and do my best not to smile. "You! YOU dropped the chandelier-?"

Dobby trots into the room, pointing one of his long fingers at my aunt, "You must not hurt Harry Potter!" he squeaks.

"Kill him, Cissy!" My mother shrieks.

There was a loud CRACK and aunt Narcissa's wand goes soaring through the air and clatters to the floor a ways away.

"You dirty little monkey!" My mother roars, "How dare you take a witches wand, how dare you defy your masters!"

I've never seen Dobby mad, it's a refreshing sight, "Dobby has no master! Dobby is a free elf, and Dobby has come to save Harry Potter and his friends!" The little elf squeals.

"Ron! Catch! GO!" Harry screams. He launches the wands through the air at his friend and pulls the goblin out from under the chandelier. He grabs onto Ron, who's holding Hermione, grabs onto Dobby's hand.

My mother screams and throws her silver dagger at them, as soon as it hits the group they apparate away, leaving all of us standing there awkwardly looking at each other.

The Dark Lord appears out of nowhere and my mother screams in anguish. I grab Draco's arm and pull him out of the room, far away from the Dark Lord's anger. I pull Draco up into my room, I can hear shouting and screaming coming from downstairs. I close my door and put up my usual charms.

"We stay here. We don't leave for anyone." I say panting.

Draco looks at me from the other side of my room, "You gave Harry aunt Bellatrix's wand." He says.

"If I didn't then he wouldn't have been able to get out and he would have been killed. Did you really want that to happen? Do you really want the Dark Lord to win this war?" I snap.

Draco looks at me with a blank expression on his face, "No I suppose not... that was pretty badass Violet. If the Dark Lord ever knew..."

"Yeah well, he's not going to know. He thinks that I'm the next Bellatrix LeStrange. Loyal, dedicated, all that shit. And you're not going to tell him anything are you?"

Draco shakes his head a bunch, "No course not. Never."

"Then we don't have anything to worry about do we."

Draco and I look at each other for a while, "I wish I could have done more, protected them in some way." He says to me.

"You did what you could, told your parents that you couldn't recognize them."

Draco rolls his eyes, "Yeah and look how good that worked. They were locked in the basement."

"But they're gone now... alive... as safe as they can be..."

"Aunt Bellatrix sent a dagger with them, who knows which one of them it hit." Draco points out.

We go quiet again, "If it hit Harry the Dark Lord would know."

"Oh yeah? How would he have known?"

Silence.

"He just would have."

"Cause that makes me feel better. What if it was George in there?"

"It was George in there when the Death Eaters attacked Bill and Fleur's wedding. I know how you feel."

Draco sits at my desk chair and bounces his forehead off the desk a few times, "This isn't my war. I don't want to fight it."

I sit on the end of my bed and pull my legs under me, "I'm not going to fight it. I'm going to protect."

Draco looks at me, "Protect?"

I nod a bunch, "When the time comes because merlin knows its coming soon, I'm going to protect the people I love on the battlefield. I don't have a side, I just want it all to be over with the people I love still in one piece."

Draco nods a couple of times, "Yeah... yeah I like that..."

There's a loud crash from downstairs and Draco practically jumps out of his skin, "God I want to be back at school." He sighs.

I look at my bedroom door half expecting the Dark Lord to come in at any second and hex the both of us, "I do too honestly, I do too."


	179. Part 7, Chapter 8

"What did you say to me?" The Dark Lord's voice booms loudly through the Malfoy Manor. He's standing in front of a goblin that he took from Gringotts. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger have just broken into the bank, specifically into my mother's vault, and took something.

The goblin in front of the Dark Lord trembling, he never looked up at the Dark Lord's face, "Say it again." The Dark Lord murmured, "Say it again!"

"M – my lord," The goblin stutters out of sheer fear, fear for his life, "m – my Lord... we t – tried to st – stop them... im – imposters, my Lord... broke – broke into the – into the LeStranges' v – vault..."

My mother shrieks so loud that it makes me jump out of my skin, "Imposters? What imposters? I thought Gringotts had ways of revealing imposters? Who were they?" The Dark Lord asks if words could cut this goblin would be bleeding out at his feet by now.

"It was... it was... the P – Potter b-boy and t – two accomplices..."

"And they took!?" The Dark Lord yells now, his anger gets the best of him. I don't think I've ever seen him this mad, I never want to see it again, "Tell me! What did they take?"

My mother and I take several steps back, people all around us tense up and prepare for the worst, "A...a s – small golden c – cup m – my Lord..."

The Dark Lord screams. Full of pain, anger, fear. He raises his wand, the Elder wand and bright green light fills the entire room and the goblin drops dead. He continues to scream, like someone us cutting him open from the inside out. He turns to the crowd and shoots another flash of green light towards a cluster of people. My mother and I race for the door, everyone races for the door. The Dark Lord never stops screaming, loud, terrifying.

I push a few other Death Eaters out of my way and practically throw myself out of the dining room and I sprint up the stairs. Draco, who was hiding in my room the entire time listening to what was going on downstairs throws open my door and lets me in. He locks it manually and then uses the charms that I've been teaching him to lock it even more.

"What happened?" He asked me panicked.

I press the heels of my hands on each of my temples and my eyes go wide, he almost killed me. He could have killed me. "Harry... Potter and his friends... they broke into my mother's vault, stole something of the Dark Lord's, he's not happy." I say all at once.

Draco looks at me, "Well no shit he's not happy. Was that him making that awful noise?"

I take my hands off my head and look at him, "Watch your language Draco."

Draco rolls his eyes, "Are you seriously telling me to watch my language when the Dark Lord is essentially throwing a very deadly temper tantrum a floor below me in my own house?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm telling you to do because it's the one thing I can control right now," I say to him.

"You can't control me"

"Really? You sure about that?" I say with a half-smile.

Draco looks at the ground and shakes his head a bit, "Ever since you and George broke up you've been insufferable."

"Ever since you were born you've been insufferable." I snap back at him.

Draco raises his eyebrows and smiles, "That's all you've got?"

I laugh to myself, "Leave me alone alright I just survived the deadliest temper tantrum."

"I dunno about that one Vi. Remember when we were kids and mother wouldn't let you have a slice of father's birthday cake? You sent those knives flying in every single direction known to man?"

I glare at him, "I was like six! How do you even remember that anyways, you were four."

"Cause you never forget a steak knife soaring towards your face because your cousin isn't allowed any cake," Draco says staring at me.

"Not as bad as the time you nearly blew up the east wing of the house cause you got in with Uncle Lucius' potion ingredients," I say to him.

"Well, at least I didn't crash into a tree during flying lessons because I was trying to catch a butterfly."

"I wasn't the one who turned the stairs into one of those muggle slide things because uncle Lucius wouldn't let you go play at the muggle playground."

"I'm not the one that fell in love with a blood traitor."

"No you're right, you're the one that fell in love with the bloody chosen one!"

Draco and I are standing in the middle of my room staring at each other looking rather defensive, to the point that if someone came in here they would have thought we were getting ready to duel each other.

"I'm not in love with him." He says matter of factly.

I roll my eyes and go over to my bed. I pick up my copy of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle off of my bedside table and sit in the middle of my bed, "You're a lot like Emma you know."

"Emma? Emma Fay, Emma? That really short girl that wears a lot of pink Emma?" Draco looks at me with his eyebrows raised.

I hum and nod a bit, opening my book up to the page that I've got my bookmark on, "Mmhmm"

Draco sits down on my floor and leans his back onto the wall, "And how do you suppose that we are alike in any way?"

"Both of you are unable to admit your feelings for other people till its too late," I say casually.

Draco makes a noise that roughly translates to, 'I'm offended but I'm a descendant of the house of Black so I'll never admit that I'm offended' and rolls his eyes, "He's dating the Weasley girl now."

"My point exactly, you don't admit it till its too late." I glance up from my book and smirk at him, "It's alright, you'll learn."

"It's alright, you'll learn." Draco says mockingly, "Remind me when the last time you saw George was?"

I glance at him and he can tell that he hit a nerve. He mumbles an apology and pulls out his wand and starts to randomly conjure little birds. I forgot that Draco was of age now, that he's allowed to use magic. I watch him out of the corner of my eye and smile a little. He's grown so much over the past couple of years. Noted he shouldn't have had to grow up as fast as he did but I think he's grown into a strong young wizard. It makes me proud to be his cousin, despite all his faults and there are quite a few if you look hard enough.

"Hey, Dray?" I say after a moment.

Draco looks up at me, "Hmm?"

"I'm proud of you. I'm proud to call you my brother."

Draco looks at me for a minute then quickly looks away, I can tell that he's trying to hide the flush of embarrassment that is making his face pink and the small smile that is on his face.

"I love you dummy," I say to him.

Draco looks at me for a moment and rolls his eyes, but he's smiling pretty big now, "Love you too asshole."

"Language Draco."


	180. Part 7, Chapter 9

"Get up! Get UP!" My mother's voice echoes through the house.

I instantly jump out of bed and get changed, running downstairs with my wand in my hand.

When I get downstairs the entire bottom floor is full of Death Eaters, I had to literally elbow our way to my aunt and uncle.

"Auntie, Uncle? What's going on?" I ask.

My aunt looks at me, "It's time, we're going to Hogwarts, Potter's there."

Nearly as soon as she says those words people around us start to apparate away, heading for Hogwarts or as close as they can get to it.

I land in Hogsmeade, the entire town is full of Death Eaters in big black cloaks, waiting, muttering, eager. Then, the Dark Lord himself.

He appears to have dropped out of the sky and land in front of the crowd that's gathered. More and more people start arriving, hundreds of dark cloaks swarm me. I shove my way through the crowd, using my elbows to make things easier, nearly bumping into the Dark Lord himself.

"Good evening!" The Dark Lord's voice rings out, the entire town goes silent almost instantly, "I have just given the students and staff of Hogwarts a message! Half an hour to deliver Harry Potter to me and no one will be injured!"

I can hear people shift in their boots, their cloaks brushing against each other. A soft wind blows through the crowd sending involuntary chills down my spine.

"If they do not comply! I want the castle taken by force, nothing is off bounds! Except for the boy. The boy is mine!" The Dark Lord continues.

Then we wait. In dead silence. I've got butterflies in my stomach but not the good kind. I never take my eyes off the castle. I can just make out the shimmering of a protection spell being place around the castle grounds.

I look around me for a moment then back at the castle, the protection charm is nearly touching the ground. Draco is in there. George is in there. The entire Weasley family is in there. Walter is in there. Lee is in there. And I'm going to fight like hell to make sure they stay alive.

The crowd shifts behind me and a few people bump into me, "I could spot you from a mile away." Emma says coming up beside me.

"Are we really going to have to destroy our home?" I recognize Graham's voice from behind me.

"I'm gonna be sick," Miriam whispers. I look over my shoulder and my entire graduating class is behind me, standing tall, standing strong. I've missed them this year, with everything going on it's been hard to see each other. Hard to actually have a conversation with each other.

"You shouldn't be here Miriam." Cassius whispers, "You're pregnant."

Everyone around me turns and looks at Miriam and Cassius. They've both got matching silver rings on their hands so I can assume that they've gotten married. "Congratulations you two." Clarissa says smiling, "Next-generation Slytherins are already being conceived and there might not be a school for them to go to in the next few hours."

"Cass is right." Adrian says, "You shouldn't be here Miriam."

Miriam rolls her eyes and stops her foot a bit, "I've got to protect my school, protect my family." She looks at all of us when she says family which makes my heart swell, "Do you know how much it would pain me to be stuck at home not knowing what is going on?"

Cassius goes to speak but Miriam shakes her head and stands her ground. Tough girl she is, I've always liked her.

The Dark Lord turns around and looks at the castle. People are spewing out of the doors and lining up on the grounds, preparing to fight. I wish I was on that side, I'd do anything to be on that side.

The Dark Lord raises his wand in the air and aims it at the protection spell around the school. Everyone around me does the same. We all start shooting any and all spells we could think of at the protection spell. It weakens before my eyes but it doesn't fade. Not till the Dark Lord shoots a bright orange light from his wand... The Elders wand.

The protection spell falls. The Dark Lord turns around to look at us.

"BEGIN!"


	181. Part 7, Chapter 10

Everyone starts running, running towards my favourite place on earth. Emma and I stay close together. There's no way I'm leaving her side tonight. Not in the middle of a war.

The entire Hogwarts grounds light up with spells, screams, shouting, fires. It's the riots all over again but I refuse to let my mind go there. Emma and I slow our pace a bit which allows for the other Death Eaters to clear a path into Hogwarts for us. I've only got one thing on my mind, to protect my family.

It doesn't talk long before Emma and I are in the castle. We get out of the way of the charging Death Eaters and flatten ourselves against a wall, "Where to first?" Emma pants.

Someone comes running down the stairs that are close to us, "STUPEFY!" I shout. The woman goes soaring backwards but she doesn't die, it was only a stunning charm. I will not kill anyone tonight unless they are trying to kill me or someone I love. I refuse.

"The Dark Lord made Draco go and find something he's hidden in the castle. Where would that be?" I say. A blue flash of light makes Emma and I duck to the floor. Screams, explosions, dust everywhere, the castle in ruins already.

"Room of Requirement," Emma shouts over the noise of another explosion.

We look at each other and nod, before getting up off the floor and racing towards the great staircase that's in the front foyer. "DOWN!" Emma shouts at me, she spins on her heels and sends some sort of jinx towards someone behind us. The man goes soaring backwards and knocks into a few people behind him. I look at Emma with wide eyes and she smiles, "Don't mention it."

We continue running through the halls, dodging weaving through pieces of brick and hexes that are being sent around in all directions. There. Walter, and Lee, fighting back to back against four Death Eaters.

"OI!" I shout. One of the Death Eaters turns to look at me, and without hesitation, I point my wand at him and scream, "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Fifty-one kills.

The Death Eaters are confused now, they stare at me and Emma for a moment who are stalking towards them like hungry dragons, then they look back at Walter and Lee. Walter's got a nasty cut on his forehead already and I make a mental note to ask him if he's got that because he walked into a wall.

"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" Emma screams, her charm hits another Death Eater and he instantly falls to the ground. Walter stuns another one and Lee literally punches the last one in the face before using the same charm that Emma just used.

"Missed you, boys!" I call looking at them with the biggest smile on my face.

Walter and Lee come running up to Emma and me and we hug each other in turn, "Some reunion huh?" Lee says, the wall beside us blows up and we all scream and duck to the floor. A bit of rock hits me in the face and splits open my cheek.

"We've got to go to the Room of Requirement... Draco's there." I shout.

Walter nods, "Stay safe, we'll go get a pint after this or something. Merlin knows we're going to need it."

We all laugh before hugging onto each other again. Lee and Walter dash off in the opposite direction. I look at Emma and nod before we start running towards the great staircase again. We skip the first three steps in one big jump to avoid the trick stairs and Emma and I shove through the people around us, casting hexes as we move.

"Course it's got to be the seventh fucking floor!" Emma shouts as we finally get to the top of the staircase, both of us are out of breath but we don't have time to catch it right this minute.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" I point my wand at another Death Eater, he's attacking a Hufflepuff kid, still in her robes. The Death Eater falls limp and the poor girl catches him as he falls.

Fifty-two kills.

The girl looks at us with fear in her face. I nod and smile at her before Emma grabs onto my arm and pulls me down the corridor that the Room of Requirement is down. As soon as we turn the corner, a door opens and Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, and Goyle fall out of it. Draco's singed but as far as I can tell he's alright. Goyle is unconscious. Harry, Ron, and Hermione look like a mess.

"Draco!" I shout. I slip past a hex that someone threw my way and fall to the ground beside my cousin. He's in shock, terrified.

"C – Crabbe..." He mutters.

"He's dead." Ron practically spits at him. I help Draco to his feet. Emma hands him a wand that she's nicked off of a dead body somewhere.

"Thank you," I say to Ron.

He nods, "You've done your fair share of saving my family. It's only right."

The three of them break into small talk and hurry down the hallway. I take Draco's face in both my hands and look at him, "You're alright?" I say.

"You're bleeding." He points out.

I shake my head, "Doesn't matter, You're alright?"

"Yeah..." He looks at the door that they've just stumbled out of, "Crabbe... one of my best friends..." He whispers.

"Hey." I say bringing his attention back to me, "Hey, you've got to go, hide yourself, do something. Take Goyle, go somewhere safe. Go to the common room. You'll be alright there."

Draco nods a couple of times, he sends a bright light at Goyle and he instantly sits up taking a deep breath as he does so. Draco helps him to his feet and they hobble down the corridor.

BANG!

A massive explosion shakes the entire floor, coming from the direction that Harry, Ron, and Hermione went. Emma and I look at each other for a second before sprinting to the cause of the sound.

Harry and Hermione are getting up from the ground. Two red-haired... no, three red-haired people are on the ground not too far from them. My heart sinks, I feel like I'm going to vomit.

Percy looks up, his eyes full of tears, he's crying, screaming his brother's name. Fred's name.

Emma screams like someone just cut off her leg.

We run over to him and throw ourselves down on the floor. Ron's screaming, Percy is screaming. I look down at Fred, my best friend. My brother. I cry, loud, ugly sobs. But it's Emma who's crying the loudest.

"Freddie? Freddie, please wake up!" She sobs. She shuffles over to be closer to his head, "Freddie, please. It's Emma. Freddie wake up. Wake up please Freddie. I love you. I love you." She runs a shaky hand through his hair, she bends over and places a kiss on his lips. "Please Freddie." She whispers, "Please god wake up."


	182. Part 7, Chapter 11

Emma and I help Percy bring Fred's body down the stairs. I keep watch to make sure no one is going to attack as we do it. Emma's wails are all I can hear, she keeps begging him to wake up, saying that she loves him, that she's in love with him.

Percy's sobs are quieter, silent almost, "It's all my fault. It's my fault. I did this to him. I was such a fucking asshole and now he's dead. My brother is dead." He chokes on his words.

I can't listen to it, I refuse to listen to it. My entire body is screaming, begging itself to just stop, to lay beside Fred and fall asleep. Tomorrow it'll be fine, it'll just be a bad nightmare, I keep telling myself.

We manage to get down the stairs, Percy says that they'll be bringing the dead into the great hall so that's what we do. The people in there, broken, hurt, dead. I can see Molly and Arthur on the other end of the room. They've got George sitting in front of them, Molly's cleaning a bad cut he's got on his face.

George sees me first. He pushes past his mother in the nicest way possible and comes running over to us... he slows... he stops... he sees Fred's lifeless body floating in the air beside Percy and Emma. He falls to the ground. He screams.

Molly and Arthur spin around and look at us. Molly screams. She comes running over to us and helps Percy get Fred to the floor. She doesn't stop screaming. It feels like I've failed them, I've failed their whole family. My best friend is dead.

George pushes past all of us and throws himself on top of his brother, screaming like I've never heard anyone scream before, crying like I've never seen anyone cry before. Molly falls to her knees and strokes George's back while holding her dead son's hand in hers. Arthur is standing by his feet, pale as a ghost, lifeless.

"You," George says. He looks from his brother and at me. His eyes full of hate, his face twisted in anger and grief, "You promised!" He shouts.

I stumble backwards at his words, Emma stands from her spot on the floor and comes beside me, "George..." His mother whispers.

George stands up and steps towards me, "You promised that nothing would happen to the people you love, you said you were on our side!" His words cut deeper than anything that has ever been said to me, "We never should have let you into our compartment on the first day. You've done nothing but bring destruction. You killed my fucking brother!" He raises his wand at me.

Emma shoves herself between the two of us. I don't have the strength to pull my wand out, I'm staring at George but he's not George anymore, he's a shell. A shell of anger and fear and grief.

"Georgie..." I whisper.

"I never want to see you again. I want you gone, out of my life." He spits, literally spits at my feet. "Fuck you." He screams before going back to his family and falling on top of Fred's body once more.

I feel like I'm going to faint like my soul has just decided to leave my body and head back to the Manor without the rest of me. Emma, with tears still falling down her face comes over to me and pulls on my arm gently, "Come on..." She whispers, "We've got to find Wally and Lee."

We start to jog out of the great hall but it's quiet like all the Death Eaters have gotten up and left. Clarissa comes jogging towards us from the dungeons, "They're gone. They're all gone. Except for us. You didn't get a signal did you?"

I shake my head no but don't say anything. My brain hurts, my entire body is sore. George's words bounce around my head 'you've brought nothing but destruction' plays a hundred times over. It's only when Emma pulls on my arm a bit that I snap back into attention.

"Let's go get them out of the common room, we'll take them out the front," Emma whispers.

I nod and I follow Emma and Clarissa mindlessly down into the dungeons. Clarissa opens the common room door and we step inside. She shouts something to get everyone's attention but I can't hear it. I don't think I can hear anything but George's voice, 'I never want to see you again'

'you killed my fucking brother'

'I want you gone, out of my life'

He spat at me. Like I was nothing like I was less than nothing.

Draco wraps his arms around me and it pulls me back to reality. He's got a black eye but I don't bother asking where he's got that. I don't think I can ask.

"Are you alright?" He whispers into my ear.

I don't move, I don't say anything. Emma explains to him what happened as we walk out of the common room and towards the front of the school. I can feel Draco squeeze my hand but my brain doesn't acknowledge it.

I killed Fred.

No, what are you saying? You didn't kill Fred.

If I just left Draco...

You didn't know Draco was okay, he could have been dead. Then how would you feel right now?

But Draco was fine... Fred needed me more...

You didn't know Draco was fine, he could have been dying. You needed to protect him first. He's your priority.

I killed Fred.

Shut up.

I killed Fred.

Shut up.

We walk past the great hall again. I glance inside, there's a massive group of red-haired people clutching at each other, sobbing, I can hear their screams.

It's my fault, I killed Fred.

SHUT UP!

People see us walking out of the castle and they think that we know something, we don't, we don't know a single thing. How should we? We're only children. This was not our war. We were played like a game of wizard chess. Used as pawns to get what the Dark Lord desired most. The Death of a child.


	183. Part 7, Chapter 12

We don't make it to the front doors, they are pushed open and Death Eaters are swarming in all over again, going right into the great hall.

Emma, Clarissa, Miriam, Henrietta, Adrian, Cassius, Graham, and Miles all shove the younger Slytherins away from the screaming Death Eaters. We don't want them fighting against their parents if we can help it. That's a trauma that no one should have to endure.

Speaking of parents, my mother runs into the great hall screaming with glee along with the other Death Eaters. Suddenly, a small army of house-elves are chasing after the Death Eaters, cutting at their ankles with cooking utensils. Now I've seen it all.

Once we are sure that the younger Slytherins are safe and relatively hidden from the chaos, all nine of us grip our wands and run into the great hall ready for battle.

"NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU BITCH!" Molly. She screams bloody murder and practically throws Hermione, Luna, and Ginny out of her way. She points her wand at my mother.

Everyone in the great hall stands back against the walls. Molly and my mother are fighting on one side. The Dark Lord and two of his opponents are fighting on the other side.

"What will happen to your children when I kill you?" My mother says in her confident, casual, threatening way that she tends to use no matter who she's talking to. She's dodging Molly's spells with somewhat of difficulty but she's managing all the same.

It hurts to watch, my mother fighting the first woman that actually treated me like a daughter. My eyes hurt, my brain is mush.

"When Mummy's gone the same way as Freddie?" My mother says.

I have never felt the anger that I feel right now. Hot, bubbling, it hurts my chest, how angry I am. If Molly doesn't kill her I will. No, I won't. Yes, I will. No, I won't.

"You – will – never – touch – our – children – again!" Molly screams.

My mother laughs like she's enjoying herself like her quidditch team just won. Molly can see that my mother is distracted, that she's far too confident.

She jams her wand towards my mother, her curse hits her right in the chest. Her eyes go wide, her smile falters.

"MOTHER!" I scream, but I don't want to scream. I'm not upset that she's dead, I don't think I'm upset. My mother topples over and I do my best to get to her. But I can't, somethings stopping me. I fight but it's no use. All of my friends, everyone I grew up with is holding me back, out of the way of the battle.

The Dark Lord screams as he watches my mother fall over lifeless. He turns his wand to Molly. My heart is stuck in my throat. He can't hurt her. I won't let this fucking war take away two mothers.

"Protego!" Someone shouts everyone goes silent. Harry appears out of nowhere, that damn invisibility cloak.

There's a few cheers but they stopped almost as soon as they started. I look over at the entrance of the great hall and my aunt and uncle are standing there, staring at me, begging me to come with them.

I turn around and look at Emma, completely ignoring the long drawn out speeches that the Dark Lord and Harry are giving right now, "I've got to go. Knowing the ministry they are going to come after people who helped the Dark Lord. I can't be here when they do." I whisper.

Emma looks at me with tears in her eyes, "We don't even know if Harry is going to win." She whispers.

"Course he's going to win. When have you known him to lose?"


	184. Part 7, Chapter 13

It's been a week since the battle of Hogwarts, the Dark Lord... Voldemort is dead.

Right now, I'm standing at the back of a funeral, Fred Weasley's funeral. Draco is beside me, wearing the same cloak he did when we were at Dumbledore's funeral.

Emma, Walter, and Lee are sitting up with the rest of the Weasley family. Emma told me to come sit with them but I don't want to cause a scene. I don't want George to yell at me. He's been through enough.

I've got all my things packed in a small car that my uncle managed to get for me. I've bewitched it, so it can drive itself. I'll learn how to drive once I've gotten settled into my new flat. Me and Draco's new flat. Because my mother died I got all of her money and riches, about fifty-thousand galleons to be exact. I converted about half of it into muggle money and found a flat for cheap that's deep in muggle London. Me being here is saying goodbye to the wizarding world. Saying goodbye to Fred Weasley.

Once the service is over, the crowd has migrated back into the small church. Draco and I walk towards the freshly covered grave.

"I always liked the twins." Draco says with tears falling down his face, "I'm sorry I was such an asshole." He whispers.

I place my hand on the gravestone and sigh, "Fucking hell Freddie." I whisper, "You're a god damn bitch you know that? Leaving us here without a goodbye?"

Draco looks at me, "Little harsh don't you think?" he's trying to make me smile.

"Mischief managed," I whisper. I kiss my fingertips and put them back on the gravestone. I throw my arm over Draco's shoulders and pull him into me. "Ready to head out?" I whisper.

Draco nods, "Suppose so."

We turn around and start to walk through the small graveyard. I hear a choking noise almost and look up from under my hood. George is standing there with his hands over his mouth watching Draco and I. Neither of us say anything to each other. I look away and back down at my feet but I can feel his eyes following me.

Draco and I get into the car and we pile ourselves in. I tap the dashboard a few times with my wand and it starts up and starts to move through the parking lot. I look out the window and I can still see George, watching me leave, tears running down his face.

I lean back in my seat and sigh deeply, "You sure you have everything?" I ask Draco.

He nods a couple of times. Fergus meows from the back seat, he doesn't like being stuck in his cage. The car pulls out of the driveway and starts down the street. I put my hands on the steering wheel to make it look like I'm the one driving.

I've never really been into the muggle world. Neither has Draco. But we both thought it would be best for now. The ministry is looking for people who helped Voldemort, sending them to Azkaban for the rest of their lives. Aunt Narcissa managed to lie the whole family out of a life sentence in Azkaban but she said it wasn't safe for us to stay at the Manor, at least not for now.

I've got to get a job, get my driver's permit or whatever I need to be able to drive the car without magic. I've got to learn what it's like to live in a muggle world, to be someone without magic.


	185. Part 7, Chapter 14

***Five years later***

I scoop the teabag out of my cup and plop it on a plate I have on my stovetop. I've just gotten home from work, I'm a barmaid. I sit down on my couch and flick on my television.

Draco doesn't live with me anymore. He lasted all of six months in the muggle world. I don't blame him honestly, it's terrifying here. But he's alright. He's met someone, a lovely witch named Astoria. It took him a while to learn how to love but he's done it. She helped him learn.

I, on the other hand, haven't loved anyone since George. Course I've dated people, slept with people, but I've never loved anyone. George still has my heart. I take a sip of my tea and flick the channel to something less boring than the news. The muggle world is fascinating I'll give it that, but I miss home. I miss magic.

Molly sent me a letter about a year after the battle, apologizing for George's behaviour, apologizing for killing my mother. We've been speaking quite a bit, sending each other post when we can. She hasn't told George that she talks to me, at least from what I've been told.

Molly's helped me find a flat in Diagon Alley. I told her how much I miss magic and she told me to come home. Most of my things are packed away in boxes that I have to load into my car soon. I've been sending furniture to my new flat using magic so my place is pretty bare right now, only the television, the bed, and the couch are the big pieces of furniture that are still here.

Fergus paws his way over to me and hops onto the couch, "Hey buddy, what do you want to watch hmm?" I say to him. Fergus looks at me then flops over and starts to snore a bit. Leave it to me to have a cat that snores.

There's a tap on my window which stirs Fergus a little but he doesn't open his eyes. I put my teacup down and unlatch my window. My owl, Otis, comes hopping inside and out of the rain. He's got a letter attached to his leg, a response from Molly.

Violet dear,

You're moving tomorrow right? How about you swing by before you go to your new flat and we can have a cup of tea? I know that the Burrow is way out of your way to your new flat but it would be so nice to see you! It's bound to be hard, the switch back to the wizarding world and I would love to make it easier for you. Does noon work for you? Oh, who am I kidding, come whenever you can, I want to see you! I'll see you tomorrow!

Love Molly

I read the letter quietly out loud. I look over at Fergus who is still fast asleep on the couch. I kiss the top of Otis' head, "You can head off back to the Burrow if you want. I'll be there tomorrow." I say to the bird. I swear I see him nod and he hops back out the window and soars off into the night sky.

"Well if I'm going to go to the Burrow before the new flat I might as well go to bed." I sigh. I turn the television off, pull my wand out of my hair and tap it on top of the television. It disappears immediately and I know that it's in the new flat. I do the same with the couch, the table, the curtains, pretty much anything I don't want to load into my car tomorrow morning.

I yawn really loudly and stretch my arms into the air. I dump my tea into the sink, give the cup a wash, then pack it away in a box. I pad my way into my bedroom and change into a set of pyjamas, throwing the clothes that I was wearing into my trunk.

The next morning I finish packing my things and send them down to my car using magic. I stuff Fergus into his cage despite his attempts against it. I do a once over of my flat, my home for the past five years and smile before picking up Fergus' cage and walking out of the door. I lock it for the last time and take a deep breath.

"Todays the day then Violet?" My elderly neighbour Maurice says to me as he shuffles up the hall.

"Yeah. Thank you for helping me, I'll miss you." I say to him. Maurice is a wizard. He noticed that an owl kept coming to my balcony and he asked me about it one day. He helped me adjust to the muggle world as seamlessly as it could have gone.

Maurice nods and smiles at me before unlocking his own door and stepping inside. I walk down the hallway and press the elevator button. God, trying to figure out elevators for the first time was a wild experience. When the bell dings and the door opens I get inside and press the button for the car park that's underneath the building. Learning to drive a car was also a lot more difficult than I thought it would have been.

I load Fergus into the passenger seat and hop into the driver's side. It's about a three-hour drive to get to the Burrow. I type the muggle address into the GPS I have on the car's dashboard. It beeps a couple of times then highlights the route to take. Muggles don't have magic but their technology is almost the same thing.

When I pull into the dirt driveway of the Burrow my insides churn. I haven't been here since Bill's wedding, and now according to Molly, Bill and Fleur have a daughter, Victoire, and they're expecting another any day now. God the times have changed.

I pull the car up to the side of the tall, crooked house and put it into park. I get out and close the door behind me, then I take Fergus out of his cage. He's been here before so I'm hoping that he remembers the lay of the land. I lean on the side of my car staring at the Burrow. If I listen close enough I can almost hear my laughter from nearly ten years ago as George and I and the rest of the Weasley children splash around in the river that's behind the Burrow.

I take a deep breath, I don't know why I'm so nervous all of a sudden, I'm just going to have a cup of tea with Molly, nothing serious. I push myself off the car and stuff my hands in the back pocket of my jean shorts. I didn't really bother to get too dressed up so I've just got jean shorts, a tank top, and some black boots on. That's another thing, almost as soon as I got to the Muggle world, Draco and I discovered the world of tattoos. Which means that we've both gone and got the Dark Mark covered up with a muggle tattoo. Mine's covered in flowers, you can't even see it anymore, and if you didn't know that I had it, you wouldn't know at all. Draco opted for something a little less 'girly' as he puts it and covered it with a dragon, his Patronus.

I stand outside the front door of the Burrow for a second, staring at the chipped paint on the door. I take another deep breath and rap my knuckles against the wood. I can hear a loud groan from inside and a dull thud, "Comin'... I'm comin'..." A muffled male's voice says from inside.

The door swings open, the strong scent of booze mixed with cinnamon and burning wood floods my nose. Standing in front of me is a decently tall man, his face is unshaven, his hair is a dark brown...

"George?"


	186. Part 8, Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ***CONTAINS SMUT 18+***

"Violet...?"

We stand there staring at each other in the doorway for a while. He's different, skinnier, big bags under his beautiful brown eyes. The beard growing on his face is red but the hair on the top of his head is dark brown. He's a little lopsided because of his ear, I never noticed his ear during the war.

"Uhh, what are you doing here?" George asks. His voice is thick with sleep and alcohol.

I blink a couple of times, "I've got plans to have tea with your mum. Is she here?"

George looks at me with a blank stare on his face, "Yeah... I mean no, she's not. Her and my dad have been gone all week. Fleur's having her baby... she didn't tell you?"

I take a deep breath and roll my eyes a bit, "No, she didn't tell me anything."

We look at each other for a little while longer, "Well, I don't have tea, but you can come in for a glass of wine or something." George suggests.

Get day drunk with my ex? Or drive three hours back to London and start unpacking boxes?

"Yeah... yeah alright."

George pulls the front door open more and I step inside. The entire place is trashed. Dishes everywhere, dirty clothes litter the floor. George walks into the kitchen and I follow close behind him, my arms crossed around my torso, holding myself in a hug.

"Something with current in the name right?" He says sifting through the liquor cabinet.

I smile a little, "Yeah..." I sit down at the table in one of the mix-matched chairs that are around the table.

George spins around dramatically and smiles. He puts two goblets on the table and pours a rather thick red liquid into both of them. He picks his up and I do the same, "To conversations that are bound to get awkward." He says loudly.

We clink our glasses together and both of us take a drink. He sits down on the opposite side of the table to me, "So... what's been up with you?"

I start to go into great detail about my life in the muggle world, the more we talk, the more we drink. The more we drink the easier it is to talk to each other. I catch myself staring at him for longer than I should be at some points. Watching how his hands move, how his lips move when he speaks. I forgot how attractive he is, and he's just gotten better with time. He's grown into his features.

"Alright, alright. I've got to ask. Why'd you go and change your hair colour if you've started to grow a beard?" I say laughing.

George pours more wine in my cup and pours some in his as well, "Got tired of it. Seeing him in every mirror that I looked in. I've dyed my hair every colour of the rainbow but mum likes dark brown the best so I've stuck with it." He takes a deep drink from his cup and shrugs, "The beard is just because I've been drunk for years."

The smile fades from my face a bit and we look at each other awkwardly. It's now very obvious that there's a big elephant in the room that should probably be discussed.

"Listen... I'm sorry. About everything I said to you during the war, about the grudge I held against you for a long time after the war... It wasn't your fault, it was never your fault. Things happen, people die during wars..." George says softly.

I dunno how to feel, my body goes numb then it regains feeling. I thought I've gotten over it, after years of nightmares and panic attacks and overall shitiness I thought I got over it. But now I'm sitting here, in front of my childhood sweetheart, in front of the man that I think I still love and my heart shatters all over again.

"It took a long time for me to realize that it wasn't my fault..." I say quietly. I look from the red liquid in my cup and at George who looks like he's going to cry, "For years it felt like it was my fault like I destroyed everyone and everything around me..." Tears start to well up in my eyes, I swirl my cup around a little, bring it up to my lips, put it back down without taking a drink, "Thank you... for saying that."

George and I look at each other for a while, both of us on the brink of tears, "I miss him, oh god I miss him." George completely breaks down now. Dry ugly sobs rack his body. I get up and go around the table and sit beside him.

"I miss him too G, " I whisper, tears falling down my face. He screams sort of? Or groans really loudly and puts his hands over his face. I gently wrap my arm around him. George looks at me for a second before turning in his chair and putting his head on my shoulder. I wrap both my arms around him and pull him close to me, "I miss him too G." I whisper.

"A-and I miss y-you and, Emma, and, and Walter, and L-Lee. And I've be-en such a b-bad person-n" He fumbles over his words as he cries. I put one of my hands in his hair and I use my other hand to rub his back.

"It's alright darling, it's alright," I whisper.

George wraps his arms around my waist and holds me close, clutching onto me like a little kid who's being taken away from their parents. We stay like that for a very long time, crying against each other. We both stop crying after a while but we don't let go of each other. It feels like I'm back in third year, crushing hard on a boy I don't think likes me back. I have butterflies in my stomach to the point where I think I'm going to throw up, or maybe it's the fact that its noon and I'm tipsy.

George lets go of me and looks into my eyes intensely. I can feel my cheeks heat up and I hope to god that my face doesn't go red. I reach across the table and grab my cup. I drink what was left in it in one swig and put it back on the table, "So are we getting drunk or what?"

George smiles a bit, he reaches out for the bottle of wine and pours more in both of our cups. "Alright, so besides absolutely hating yourself..." I say George laughs into his cup sending wine all over his mother's floor, "What else has been going on? How's the joke shop?"

George puts his cup down and grimaces a little, "Dunno, never reopened it after the war..."

Silence falls between us again but it's not awkward anymore, "Are you the only one that lives here now besides your parents? I don't think I've ever known the Burrow to be so quiet."

George looks around the kitchen and nods, "Yeah. Bill and Fleur are off in their shell cottage having kids, Charlie's still in Romania not having kids much to my mother's slight annoyance. Percy and his wife have a daughter and are living in London..."

"Percy's managed to trick a woman into marrying him?" I cut George off.

We look at each other and burst into laughter, George nods a couple of times, "Yeah believe it or not. No offence to her but she's not really my kind of person."

"So a stick in the mud then?"

George smiles, god I've missed that smile, "Essentially yeah. Here's hoping that their kid gets some of my personality."

"Percy never pegged me as a dad type," I say, taking a drink from my cup. "What about ickle Ronnie kins?"

George smiles, "Ron's managed to land himself Hermione Granger actually. They've been pretty steady ever since the war. He's planning on proposing soon."

"Always sort of thought that Hermione was into Potter."

George shrugs, "Rons been after her since the Yule Ball. Guess it's the Weasley charm that caught her."

I smirk a little and look at George, "That damn Weasley charm dude. It's hard to ignore."

George looks at me, his eyelids are heavy, he licks his lips softly and smirks at me, sending shivers all over my body.

"And Gin?" I say breaking the tension that has fallen in between us.

"She's made it onto the Holly Head Harpies. She's only here during the offseason. She and Harry have been on and off for a bit now." George says. He looks at me with such intensity it makes me feel all giggly inside.

George stares at me, "Are you seeing anyone right now?"

I shake my head, "Nah I haven't really dated anyone since..." I look at George, "Are you? Uhh seeing anyone?"

George laughs, "No, not at all. Mums been trying to get me to go out and find someone. She's even brought a few girls home for me."

"You're joking," I say smiling.

George shakes his head, "No seriously. She saw Angelina walking in Diagon Alley bout two years ago and brought her home for supper. She then took my dad out for a long late-night walk leaving the two of us alone. It was going pretty good... Till we started kissing and she moaned Fred instead of George."

My jaw falls open, George laughs at my reaction, "Fucking hell!" I shriek.

"Needless to say I haven't seen her since. Mum couldn't stop apologizing."

There was a loud, dull, bang on the window and George jumps a bit and looks over at it. "That damned owl." He grumbles. George gets up from the table and I watch him walk away with my head tilted. I bite my lip involuntarily. George snatches the letter off of the owl and reads it.

"They've had a girl! Dominique Weasley. Mum says she's got red hair already." George says happily reading the note.

I get up and turn on the little radio that Molly's got set up on the top of the fridge, "Sounds like a reason to celebrate if you ask me." I say happily.

I start to sway to the music, walking slowly towards George as I do. George laughs and watches my every move with intense focus. I put my hands on his shoulders and he automatically puts his hands on my hips, he moves them up a little so his hands are more in the middle of my back.

We start to twirl around the kitchen together, laughing, smiling, humming along to the music. The longer we dance, the more we drink, the crazier our movements have become. Hours later and George and I are sitting back down at the table. I haven't felt this alive in years, I haven't been this happy since my years at Hogwarts.

"Let's go flying," George says all of a sudden. The sun is setting outside, there's a cold autumn breeze floating into the kitchen from the open window.

I look at him, "Flying? George, we are both plastered. If someone saw us..."

"What are you going to do? Call the ministry on us for drunk broom flying. Come on LeStrange, don't tell me that living as a muggle has made you rusty." George stands from his seat and wobbles a little which makes me laugh. He sticks his hand out towards me, "Come on. What's the worst that could happen?"

Usually, I could think of a hundred different things that could go wrong, but looking up at George, looking into his big eyes, his smiling face... "Fuck it," I say before taking his hand in mine and letting him pull me up out of my chair and out of the kitchen. We laugh and run towards the broom shed. George yanks open the door and pulls out two very old brooms that are covered in cobwebs and dust.

He tosses me one and I grab it out of the air, "Race you to the pasture." I shout before sprinting off towards the open field that the Weasleys use for flying practice. As soon as I get into the pasture I swing my leg over the broomstick and kick off the ground. It's old and rickety but it's not like I really should be going fast with the state that I'm in.

George hollers from behind me, "Since when do you run!"

I laugh and scream rather loudly as I do loops in the sky, I haven't flown on a broom in years, I missed this.

It doesn't take long for George to be up in the air right along with me. We are both laughing and screaming at the top of our lungs for no other reason besides we can.

Until we crash into each other and fall six feet out of the air.

I land on top of George and he groans and laughs at the same time, "Ah fuck I'm sorry." I groan. But I don't move. I prop myself up with my hands so I'm not totally crushing him. My hair has fallen out of my ponytail a little and strands of hair are dangling down on George's face. He reaches out and tucks a strand back behind my ear. His hand stays on the side of my face.

In one swift movement, George sits up and plants his lips on mine. My entire body explodes, I can feel the kiss in the tips of my fingers to the bottom of my feet. George shifts so he's sitting completely upright, I'm straddling his lap, our lips never leave each others. My hands fly into his hair and I pull on the tips of it which gets him to moan, some things never change.

George pulls away after what feels like years and puts his forehead against mine, "Fuck." He groans with a sharp breath outwards. It sends goosebumps all down my arms.

"Don't make me say it first Weasley," I whisper.

George pulls away a little so he can look at me in the eyes, "Say what?" He says, breathing heavily.

"You know what."

"Say it. Say you love me." George says airily. He starts to suck on my neck a little and I moan.

"I love you, George," I say all at once.

George stops what he's doing and looks at me, his dark eyes are darker than usual, "I love you too Violet."

He kisses me harder than before, wasting no time. His hands trail up my torso and squeeze my chest which makes me laugh into him. "You find that funny now? Christ the times have changed." He says pulling away from me.

I rest my forehead on his shoulder and sink my hips deeper into his lap, "No it's not that. God no. It's just... I'm drunk." I say; you can hear my smile in my voice.

George laughs and squeezes my sides, "I'm drunk too." He says. I lift my head up and look at him. I brush a bit of his hair out of his face and he takes my hand in his and brings it to his mouth, kissing it softly. "You know... we've never had drunk sex before." He mumbles into my hand, kissing it between every word.

I raise one of my eyebrows, pretending to think, "No I don't think we have." I say, biting my lip a little.

George chuckles to himself, "You wanna give it a go?" I swear I watch his eyes get four shades darker than normal, even in the dark that has fallen around us.

"Well if you think I'm going to fuck you for the first time in five years in a bloody field then you've gone mad." I laugh. I crawl off his lap and stand up, brushing the dirt off of my knees. I reach down and give him my hand, "Coming?"

George takes my hand in his, "Not yet, but I have a feeling that I will be soon." Then he does something I didn't expect. He wraps his arms around my waist and picks me up, tossing me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Bloody hell Weasley!" I laugh.

He tightens his grip on my thighs and starts to walk back towards the house, walking very fast mind you. "I've wasted five years of my life not being with you. I don't want to waste another fucking second." He says, I can hear the laugh in his voice.

Once we get to the house, he kicks open the door and ducks into the doorway to make sure that I don't hit my head on the top of the door frame. His grip on my thighs loosens and he tosses me backwards onto his mother's couch in the living room.

I don't have a second to process though because George has got his shirt off and is crawling on top of me. He stops and smiles down at me, "You're so fucking beautiful you know that?" He says it so quietly that I can barely hear him.

I put both my hands on the back of his neck and intertwin my fingers together, "You think? I dunno Weasley I'm not in my prime anymore." I whisper back to him.

He furrows his brow, "You're joking right?" He leans down and kisses my forehead, the tip of my nose, "You're stunning. Absolutely perfect in every sense of the word." He kisses my left cheek, "And I'm..." he kisses my right cheek, "So totally..." he pulls away and looks at me in the eye, "In love with you."

Hearing him say that after all these years, having him this close to me again... I can feel my core getting hot. He doesn't let me respond, kissing me hard instead. I moan into the kiss and I can tell that turns him on more than he already was because he deepens the kiss instantly, his tongue clumsily bumping into mine.

He pulls away, breathing heavily. "Can I take off your shirt?" He says, his fingers playing with its hem.

I smile, "Shirt, bra, pants, have it all Weasley."

He leans back down and kisses me hard again before pulling my shirt up over my head, leaving me in a black lace bra and my black jeans. George groans, his hands cupping my chest, "You've aged like fine wine LeStrange." He says, his thumbs rubbing circles over my covered nipples.

I lightly run my fingertips up and down his arm, "I could say the same thing about you Weasley." I say softly.

He kisses me again, slowly, deeply, like he's trying to taste every bit of me from my mouth alone. I take this time to do what I do best. Take charge.

I link my leg with his, wrap both my arms around his, and thrust up and around with my entire body. George yelps as I flip him over and land on top of him, my nose inches away from his, "I've learned a few things since our last time." I hum.

George looks at me, clearly impressed, "Shit, alright." He says with a lopsided smile on his face.

I slam my lips into his, taking full control of the entire situation. I moan into his mouth and I can feel his bulge growing underneath my core. I move one of my hands down towards his length, palming him through his trousers.

George lets out a shaky groan, "Fuuucking hell." He breathes.

I stop kissing his lips and move my mouth down to his neck, making sure I leave as many marks as I possibly can, blowing cold air on each of them once I'm finished. The whole time I'm teasing him through his trousers and grinding my hips against his.

George moves his hands from my waist and up to my back, unclasping my bra and letting it fall down my arms. He then grabs a hold of my waist again and sits up, pulling me along with him.

"No fair, I was having fun like that," I say, now sitting in his lap facing him.

George looks from my bare chest to my face, and down to my chest again, "And I'm gonna have fun like this." He says, his voice deep and sultry.

He takes one of my breasts in his mouth, sucking and nibbling at the nipple, his hand on my other breast, rolling my nipple in between his fingers.

"oooh, fuuck George." I moan, throwing my head back in ecstasy. I grind my hips harder into his, his dick now rock hard, still trapped under layers of clothing.

George switches; his mouth now on my other breast. I put my fingers in his hair and pull on it hard, getting a sharp breath from him which feels fantastic on my sensitive nipple.

I put my hand down on his bulge and start massaging it again, George stops what he's doing and groans really loudly, "You want me to take care of this for you love?" I whisper into his ear, I kiss his ear lobe and a bit of skin just under his ear.

"It fucking hurts," George says darkly.

I take his ear lobe between my teeth and bite down gently, "Beg for it." I whisper.

George lets out a breathy laugh, "I'm not going to beg." He says.

I add more pressure, grabbing and tugging a little at his dick. He moans, I can feel my panties begin to dampen. "Won't my pretty little mouth feel so good around your cock?" I hum. I tug on his length again and he throws his head backwards and rests it on the back of the couch, "Tell me how much you want me to suck you off."

George rolls his head back around so he's looking at me, "You've gotten mean." He says smiling.

"I could be a lot meaner if you wanted me to," I say, swinging my leg over his lap and standing up.

George looks at me with wide eyes, "Wh-what the fuck? Where the hell are you going?" He says.

I pick up my bra and shirt off the floor and look at him, "I'm going to bed." I say matter of factly. I turn around and walk towards the staircase. I can hear George sputtering trying to figure out what to say, what to do.

I stop at the third floor and walk into the only bedroom with its door open. By the dragon posters on the walls, I can tell that it once belonged to Charlie.

I put my shirt back on and squirm out of my jeans, leaving me in my panties before I crawl onto the bed.

I can't even get under the covers before George is standing in the doorway, "You're such a fucking tease." He practically growls.

"Really? Haven't noticed." I say, leaning back into the headboard.

George walks towards me, "Off the bed, on your knees." He says, staring me down.

I tilt my head sideways and look at him, my eyes narrow, "What's the magic word?" I say, annunciating each of my words perfectly.

"On your fucking knees." He demands, pointing at the floor in front of the bed.

Something about dominant George makes me feel things that I can't explain. "Whatever you say, sir," I say crawling off of the bed as sensual as I can and sitting on my knees in front of the bed.

George sits down on the bed in front of me, still in his blue jeans, "I took that shirt off for a reason LeStrange." He says, eyeing my chest.

I smirk and take it off as slow as I possibly can and drop it to the floor beside me. I sit up on my knees and start to undo his pants, slowly. I hold eye contact with George the entire time, I don't give a fuck if he was the one who told me to get down on my knee's I'm still in control.

Once his boxers are off George lets out a sigh of relief. I lick my hand and wrap my fist around his length, just the contact of my skin on his gets him to throw his head backwards and groan.

I make a tutting noise a few times, "So fucking desperate." I say, pumping my hand up and down on his dick. I scoot closer to him and look up at him through my eyelashes before I place a kiss on the tip of his length. He bucks his hips upwards, his body begging for more.

"Fuck Violet." George groans.

I smirk, proud of myself for making him so needy. I lick up his shaft before wrapping my lips around his tip and sucking on it gently. One of George's hands flies to the back of my head and tries to push me further down.

I take my mouth off of him, taking my hand off of the bottom of his length. "If this is going to work, you can't touch me," I say looking up at George.

His eyes go wide, "Wut?"

I really hope that I remember the spell properly. I close my eyes tight, George yelps.

I open my eyes and look up at him again, his hands are now bound together, attached to a rope that tied around the footboard. "That's better," I say to him.

I don't give him a chance to say anything else. I put my mouth back around his length and start to bob my head up and down, slowly at first but then faster. George is a mess of moans and 'fucks' which makes my core so fucking hot.

I take as much of him in my mouth that I can, the tip of his dick hitting the back of my throat. I hollow out my cheeks and suck hard.

"o-oh shit! Christ Violet, don't – don't stop." George groans.

I look up at him and I can see him struggling against his restraints which only turns me on more. I bob my head faster, tears start to well up in my eyes as I try my hardest not to gag.

"Fuuck!" George moans. His dick twitches in my mouth and I know he's close. I swirl my tongue around the tip and he bucks his hips upwards.

I hollow my cheeks again and take as much as I can in my mouth. "Go-od Violet. I-... christ."

His length twitches again and his hot load shoots into my mouth. I swallow it all and lick his length clean before leaning back and using the counter curse for the ropes around his wrists.

George falls backwards onto the bed and lies there like a starfish, "Remind me why we ever stopped doing this?" He says looking up to the ceiling.

I get up from my spot on the floor and lie on the bed beside him, curling up into his side, "Cause the world sucks?" I suggest.

George laughs to himself. He turns his head to look at me and smiles softly, "Your turn."


	187. Part 8, Chapter 2

I wake up in George's arms. We aren't in his childhood bedroom so I really haven't got a clue where I am. But I'm with George. I'm safe with George.

I crawl out of bed carefully, I shift through a drawer and find a big sweater with a 'G' knitted into it. Then I pull out a pair of his boxers and pull them up my legs.

"I forgot how hot you looked in my clothes." George yawns from the bed.

I turn around and smile at him, "Sorry G, I tried not to wake you."

George props himself up on the bed with one of his arms, "I'm happy you did." He gestures for me to come back into bed and I smile really big. I cross the small room and crawl over the bed and lie my head on his chest. I can hear his heartbeat, hear his breathing.

"God I've missed you," I say quietly.

George laughs which makes his entire body shake, "I've missed you too baby." His voice rumbles through my entire body.

I move so I can look at him in the face, "You're cute in the morning." I say to him. I kiss the tip of his nose and crawl back out of bed. "Come on, let's go make breakfast."

George groans but he gets up and gets dressed. He comes over to me slowly, I back up a little so my back is against the closed door. "How about I have you for breakfast instead." He whispers. He kisses me hard and I practically melt into his touch.

He presses me against the door more which makes the doorknob practically stab me in the small of my back, "Ow fuck." I grumble. George stops kissing me and looks at me with his eyebrows raised.

I slap his bare chest and laugh, "You try getting a doorknob jammed into you." I say. I turn around and pull open the door, George slaps my ass which makes me laugh.

We start down the crooked hallways and head down the stairs. There are muffled voices coming from the ground floor. Molly and Arthur must be home.

"Who's car is in by the house?" I can hear Arthur say. George and I stop a few steps away from the floor so we can listen in on the conversation.

"Violet," Molly says like it's completely obvious.

"Violet? Violet who?"

There's a light thud sound and I can assume that Molly has hit her husband with something, "Violet LeStrange! George's girlfriend from Hogwarts?"

"Oh yes, that's right! But why would she be here? I sure wouldn't be here if George yelled at me the way he yelled at that poor girl."

George puts his hand on my shoulder and I lean into his touch a little.

"Well, she didn't really know he would be here," Molly says.

There's a loud bang that sounds like someone closed a cupboard door angrily, "Molly Weasley! Are you trying to tell me that you have once again meddled with our son's love life!" Arthur says loudly. George and I stifle our laughter.

"Well- I didn't exactly meddle! I just invited her for tea yesterday and failed to mention that I was not at home!" Molly shrieks. "Besides it clearly worked! She's still here isn't she!"

"Molly..."

"Don't you 'Molly' me Arthur! Is it so bad to want my son back? To hear his laugh, see his smile? Don't you want to see that?" I can hear footsteps so I think that Molly is walking towards her husband. "I haven't heard him laugh in five years, Arthur. The only time I see his smile is when I'm looking through old photos!"

I turn to look at George. He hasn't laughed in five years? Hasn't smiled? Been happy? I step up a few steps so that I'm a little taller than George. He turns around and watches me. I take his face in between my hands and kiss him, soft, loving. I use this kiss to apologize for not being here when he clearly needed me to be by his side.

I stop kissing him and smile. Then I walk all the way down the stairs, "I was promised tea." I say walking into the kitchen.

Molly turns around and smiles big and bright, "Oh Violet dear!" She comes running over to me and gives me a big hug, "Oh you look fantastic! All grown up! Look at her Georgie isn't she stunning?"

George goes over to his mum and kisses her on the top of her head, "Yeah she's pretty perfect."

Molly lets go of me and ushers me into the kitchen and down at the table. She looks at George as if she's waiting for him to do something to his drink but George just throws his arm over my shoulders and pulls me into his side, "Let's go on a walk after breakfast yeah?" He says softly into my ear.

"Yeah definitely," I say looking at him. George smiles and kisses the middle of my forehead with a slight hum.

I can feel Molly and Arthur watching us which makes things a little awkward. "Molly, Arthur, go unpack and rest. Georgie and I will make breakfast for us all." I say to the two of them.

"Oh Violet it's alright, you're our guest," Molly says, she's got tears forming in her eyes a little from just watching George and I interact.

"Vi's right Mum. Go relax a bit, you just became grandparents for the third time I'm sure that takes a lot of energy out of a person." George gets up from the table, "We've got breakfast under control. I mean how hard could it be?"

"There are still burn marks on the ceiling from the last time you tried to cook George," Arthur says pointing up to the ceiling.

"I'll make sure that doesn't happen this time. Promise." I say with a smile. Molly and Arthur look at each other before heading out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

I look at George, "Pancakes?"

He smiles really big, "Can we make them colourful?" He looks like an excited toddler.

"Yeah, we can make them colourful."

George moves around the kitchen getting all the ingredients. "So from what I can remember... we need flour, milk, eggs, salt... baking powder... and some sugar," I say to George as he opens all the cupboards. He comes back carrying all the things.

"George!" I shout. He's put about half the bag of flour into the bowl.

"Whaaat?" He says looking at me.

"How many pancakes are you going to eat! We don't need that much flour."

George looks into the bowl then looks at me, "Here wait." He scoops a handful of flour out of the bowl and tosses it into my face, "All better." He says triumphantly.

I stand there looking at him, doused in flour, "Here wait we forgot to add the eggs." I grab an egg in each hand and smash them over the top of George's head.

I start laughing really loudly as he wipes the egg out of his eyes, "Oh you've done it now LeStrange." He says with a smile.

"Oh have I?"

George tries to grab onto me but I scream and run away. He chases me around the table for a spell before he manages to jump over the top of the table and lands in front of me. He pulls me in by my waist and kisses me hard.

"You taste like raw egg," I say pulling away from him and making a face.

"You're no treat yourself," George says. His lips have flour on them now too.

There's a squeak noise behind us and George and I both spin around. Molly is standing there with her hands over her mouth and her eyes full of tears, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I heard screaming and laughter and I just had to come look..."

"Sorry, Mum. We'll clean up after I promise." George says sheepishly.

Molly waves one of her hands in front of her face, "No, no don't you worry about that! Just keep laughing. Please, this house has been far too silent for far too long."


	188. Part 8, Chapter 3

I've been at the Burrow for about a month now, and it's been absolutely fantastic. Early morning chats around the dining table with Molly as she makes breakfast, showing Arthur all the muggle technology that I have, being with George all the time. I've managed to get George to shave that awful beard off his face and his ginger roots are showing through the brown hair dye at the top of his head, he's never looked more attractive. It's almost like a fairy tale; like this is what my life should have been like for the past five years.

I was hesitant, to stay here. I'm always scared that I'll fuck it up in some way. Like say something wrong and have Molly kick me out or have a massive fight with George and just be told to leave. But Molly doesn't want me to leave. Course she hasn't said it out loud but every time I say something about the flat that I have waiting for me she gets all sad.

"So you're living here now?" Draco asks me. He comes to visit when he can, we go on walks by the river so it's just the two of us.

I shrug my shoulders, "No... Well.... I dunno. I'm scared that I've overstayed but Molly hasn't asked me to leave or anything."

"Are you and George together now then? Like back to dating?"

I kick a rock into the river and sigh, "Haven't got a clue. I mean we do all the things that people who date do. And I love him and he loves me, just never had that conversation yet."

Draco looks at me. He looks so much like his father now, but with the kindness that his mother has in her eyes. "You should probably have that conversation then. Life is short."

I put my arm around his shoulders and hug him from the side. His girlfriend Astoria has a blood curse which makes her extremely frail and not very healthy. "I'm sorry..." I whisper.

Draco shrugs, "Don't be sorry, not like you're the one that cursed her ancestor or whatever."

"I don't have to be guilty to be sorry Dray."

We walk some more, not talking, just enjoying each others presence. "Are you going home for Christmas?" Draco looks at me. "Mother and Father aren't very impressed with Astoria so I don't think I'll be showing up. Despite all of mothers owls begging to see me."

"I've been living with the Weasleys for a month. With the woman that killed my mother. Do you really think that Aunt Narcissa wants me there?"

Draco chuckles to himself, "You and George are always welcome to come to our place if you want."

"You two are always welcome here too you know. It would be nice, to have my entire family with me at Christmas."

Draco laughs, "Yeah like the Weasleys are going to want me at their dining table. I was such a fucking asshole when I was a kid."

"Language Draco."

He stops walking and looks at me, "You're kidding me right? I am a twenty three year old man."

I don't bother to turn around when I talk to him, "A twenty three year old man child that shouldn't swear."

Draco scoffs then pick up his pace again so we are walking side by side. "Imagine the look on Ronald's face when he comes into his mothers house and sees his childhood bully sitting beside his father."

"I won't have to imagine it because you and Astoria will be coming to Christmas dinner. He's got a month to get over himself." I say casually.

"Are you trying to get kicked out of the house?" Draco asks me with wide eyes.

I shrug, "I plan on being in this for the long haul and if they have a problem with my brother at their dining table then maybe I should rethink my plans."

"You can't keep doing that."

"Doing what?"

Draco rolls his eyes, "Put me over your happiness. You did it our entire childhood, you did it when you joined the Death Eaters. I'm not a kid anymore, you're not responsible for me."

"You're my baby brother. My little cousin. I don't care how old you get you're always going to be my responsibility."

Draco leaves at about five o'clock. I walk back up into the Burrow and instantly George wraps his arms around me and pecks my lips. "Family's coming by for Sunday supper soon. Help me get dressed?" he hums against my lips.

I smile and melt inside a little, "Uhh yeah lemme just go get something to wear from the car."

"How about you just bring all your clothes into our room? It's been a month of you getting changed in my front yard." George says smiling, "Not that I'm complaining really but I'd rather not have all the neighbors know what you look like half naked."

I start laughing and press my forehead against his, "I don't want to overstay my welcome."

"You're joking right? My mum wants you here more than she wants me here. Come on."

Once we are finally dressed and George has brought my trunk of clothes into the room we've been staying in we head down the stairs. Percy and his wife are sitting in the living room with Molly and Arthur. Their daughter bouncing in Arthur's lap. That's when it hits me.

"Do your siblings know that I'm here?" I whisper to George before Percy realizes that we are in the other room.

George peers through into the living room, "I didn't tell them, mum might have though. Why is everything alright?"

"Haven't seen any of them since the war..." I say awkwardly.

George kisses my hand, "You'll be fine." He whispers. He looks into my eyes and nods before walking into the living room.

"George! You look... good." Percy says.

"He's happy." Molly coos at the baby, "Isn't that right Molly? Uncle Georgie's happy!"

I take a deep breath and walk into the living room. Everyone looks in my direction. Percy stands still for a moment, and then, "Haven't seen you in a while!" He says smiling.

"Looking good there Percy." I say back to him.

George comes over to me and kisses my lips softly, before turning around back to Percy. "This is Audrey, Percy's wife." George says gesturing to the woman sitting on the couch. She's got shoulder length brown hair and a very pointed face. She's got a small set of glasses resting on her nose and she's wearing a pale coloured pencil skirt with a flowy bouse. Exactly how I would expect Percy's wife to look.

She stands up from the couch and comes over to shake my hand, "It's so nice to meet you." I says smiling, "I'm Violet."

"Never thought I'd see the day when George has a girlfriend." She says smiling.

I look at George, we still have to have that conversation so I feel a little awkward but George doesn't even react to her comment.

He goes over to his mum and plucks the smiling baby out of her lap and brings her over to me, "And this is little Molly."

I put my finger out to the baby and she grabs onto it and giggles, "Hi precious." I say smiling at the baby.

We all sit back down in the living room. George is bouncing his niece on his knee making her laugh. I've never seen him interact with little kids before and it's making me feel all sorts of ways.

It's not long before there's a rather loud CRACK! outside and Ron and Hermione come into the house.

"Sorry we're late Molly, your son can't seem to figure out how to dress himself in a shirt that's not covered in stains." Hermione calls from the front door.

"Oh it's alright dear, Percy and Audrey are the only ones here right now!" Molly calls back.

Ron and Hermione come walking in the room hand in hand bickering quietly about something. Hermione's eyes land on me and she stops talking. I look up from baby Molly and smile at her, "Alright you two?" I say casually.

Ron now notices that I'm in the room and looks between me and George a few times, "Alright." He says smiling.

It doesn't take long for the house to fill up with the rest of the Weasleys. Fleur is holding her new born baby girl tightly against her chest while their other daughter Victoire is toddling around the kitchen. Bill is walking slowly behind her in case she falls, talking with Percy and Arthur as he does it.

It's loud, happy, warm. Molly, Ginny, and Audrey are getting dinner prepared. George and I are talking with Harry, Ron, and a little blue haired boy who I learn is Tonks and Remus' son Teddy.

"Has mum been getting on your nerves yet Violet?" Ron jokes.

"Not in the slightest! I love your mum."

The conversation quickly moves to Harry and Ron's work as an Auror which I tune out the best I can. Teddy comes over to me and hops up onto the couch beside me, in between George and I. "So are you and Uncle George going to get married?" He says matter of factly.

George looks over at us out of the corner of his eye, like he's waiting to hear my response, "Maybe one day. Would that be alright with you?" I say looking at the little boy.

Teddy shrugs, "Suppose it will be." He then gestures for me to come closer to him. I lean my head down and he grabs my face so he can whisper something to me. I try to ignore that his hands are sticky and his breath smells like chocolate, "I think he really likes you."

I smile and whisper into his ear, "I think so too."

Molly calls us all to the kitchen, she's got extra chairs all around and food on the table. George and I sit beside each other and he instinctively puts his arm round the back of my chair and starts to trace his fingers on my arm mindlessly.

I offer to take baby Molly from Audrey so she can actually enjoy herself for a bit. "You know... we should get ourselves one of those." George whispers into my ear, looking at his baby niece in my arms.

I look at George, "A baby? George we aren't even officially dating." I whisper back to him.

"We aren't?"

"I mean we never talked about it."

"Look, I'm ready to propose to you right here right now." He whispers into my ear, his breath tickles my neck, "But if you think that you're not my girlfriend..."

I roll my eyes and smile at him, "I would very much like to be your girlfriend." I whisper back.

George smiles really big and pecks my lips, "Better tell mum then. Given it's official now and everything."

And with that George clinks his knife against his glass and stands from his chair. His entire family stops talking and looks at him. "As all of you know, I spent a long time feeling sad, being a shell of the person I was before the war. And I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry I put you through all that, forcing you to watch me fade away to essentially nothing..." George says loudly.

Molly starts to wipe her face with a napkin, trying to hide that she's just gone all teary eyed.

"I felt like I couldn't exist... shouldn't exist without Fred here. I was mad at myself, for allowing me to sink into that sort of depression, to waste my life when Fred no longer has one. I felt for the longest time that it should have been me. That Fred wouldn't be sitting on mum couch drunk at eight in the morning and wearing the same clothes that he's been wearing for a whole week because he can't seem to bother to get changed or shower. And thinking like that only made me feel worse about myself."

I look around the table, every Weasley is now trying hard not to cry. I can see the pain in all of their faces, the grief. My eyes start to get pin pricks in them trying to hold back my tears. George takes a breath and continues.

"It wasn't till this dumbass..." He puts his hand on the top of my head and ruffles my hair a bit, "knocked on the door looking for mum that I realized how bad I got. Suddenly I was very aware of how disgusting I must look, how bad I must have smelled. But she came in anyways, sat with me at the dining table drinking wine and talking about school and all the happy memories. And the first time in years I laughed. It freaked me out, I felt guilty, feeling as good as I did when Fred couldn't feel anything anymore."

A few tears slip down my face and I quickly wipe them away. Molly is a complete wreck at his point, trying her hardest not to let it show.

"Then I heard his voice in the back of my head, 'bloody hell Georgie! You're really going to throw away your chance with this girl for the third time all because you think that you shouldn't be happy! Get yourself together and go tell her that you're still in love with her!" George continues, everyone laughs a bit, looking up at George, hanging onto every word he says. "That was the changing point for me. And I know that it's only been a month and things happen and twins die and the world is never fully safe but it's safe to say that I have never been happier than I am right now. And I know that Fred is happy too."

Molly lets out a loud sob and everyone laughs and cries at the same time. George suddenly looks uncomfortable, "So anyways. Long story short, thank you for not giving up on me. I love each and every one of you. And uh, Violets my girlfriend again."

Everyone laughs again and claps a bit as George sits back down. I try not to disturb baby Molly who as fallen asleep in my arms as I pull George in for a kiss. Ron wolf whistles and everyone laughs again. Molly says something along the lines of, 'oh I knew it' as she blows her nose into a napkin.

When I pull away from George he's got the biggest smile on his face. "I'm so totally in love with you Weasley," I whisper.

"I'm so totally in love with you LeStrange."


	189. Part 8, Chapter 4

The next day Walter, Lee, and Emma show up to the Burrow. How they found out that I was there I have no idea.

"Violet!" Emma calls as she walks through the front door. "Violet LeStrange you get your ass over here!"

George and I are still curled up in bed when she screams through the house. Arthur is out at work and Molly went into town so we were just going to have a lazy, sex-filled morning. Not anymore apparently.

"Emma!" I shriek. I pull on some jeans and a tee-shirt and sprint down the stairs. George groaning behind me muttering about his lazy day plans being ruined.

I haven't seen Emma in two years. Sure we've sent each other owls and things but she's been living in France for the past little while. I haven't seen Lee and Walter for about the same amount of time. The two took a break in their relationship and went their separate ways for a while, but according to the last letter I got from Lee they are very much back together.

I see the three of them standing in the living room and I nearly start crying, "Look how old you all are!" I shriek. The three of them turn around and smile really big. I practically throw myself down the rest of the stairs and pull them all into a massive hug.

"How the bloody hell did you know that I'm here!" I say hugging them individually again.

"Molly sent Lee a letter a while ago, telling him all about the plan to get you here. Dumbass lost it in the move and we just found it the other day." Walter says before he kisses Lee on the temple.

"The move? You two live together finally?" My face hurts from smiling so much.

"As close as we can be to married, given the world hates the idea of two men being together and everything." Lee says.

"Fuck the world." Emma shouts.

"Fuck the world!" The rest of us shout even louder.

George comes down the stairs and comes over to us, after another round of big hugs and 'I've missed you's' George looks at us, "Can we not scream so early in the morning?" He grumbles.

"Baby its like nine in the morning. That's not that early." I say pecking his cheek. Emma looks at me with her eyebrow raised and gives me a look that says 'we're going to talk about that later'.

After a quick breakfast of French toast made by Lee and Wally, we migrate to the living room where we all start talking about the last couple years. The conversation moves from what we've been doing to Hogwarts memories.

"Alright but how many times did you sneak Violet into the Gryffindor common room? I mean if McGonagall ever found out what you two were up to in there..." Lee says smiling.

"Can't have been more than... I dunno, five? Six?" George says looking at me.

"God it feels like forever ago... sneaking around with all of you basket cases." I say thinking back to all the stupid shit that we were doing.

Emma falls sort of quiet, and soon the rest of us do too. It's hard to think about all the memories we have when we're missing one of our best friends. All of the memories are happy on the surface but if you think about them for too long you get really sad... which is where we are all at now. We sit in a sort of comfortable silence for a good long time. George and I are sitting on the opposite sides of the couch, but our legs are intertwined in the middle.

Emma clears her throat and I look over at her then at George, "Emma and I are going to go on a walk... Girl things." I say to him.

George nods and moves his legs so that I can get up. Emma and I walk over to the front door and get our shoes and coats on. The boys start talking about their favourite thing to talk about, Quidditch.

As soon as the door closes behind us Emma looks at me, "You and George."

I laugh, "Me and George."

"Are you two back together?" She looks at me with wide eyes, Please tell me that you two are back together, it would make my childhood complete."

I laugh really loudly and we start to walk through the Weasley property, "Yeah we're back together. Made it official last night but according to George we've been dating for a month already."

Emma sighs and smiles really big, "You don't know how good that makes me feel Violet." She says. I try to interrupt her but she shoves me a bit and continues, "You deserve so much happiness Violet it's not even funny. You both deserve so much and the world has been so shitty to you both."

"Awh Emma you're going to make me cry." I say smiling at her.

She looks at me, "I love you dude, and I've missed you so much." We hug each other and cry a bit before we keep walking.

"So what about you hmm? Have you been seeing anyone?" I ask her. I know that after Fred's death she closed off any and all emotions that relate to love and relationships. It broke her, seeing the man she loved lifeless in the middle of a warzone, in the middle of the place that the two of them used to sneak around together.

Emma goes quiet for a minute, "Yeah actually... I'm seeing someone." She says quietly, "You remember Travis Williams? Hufflepuff, our year?"

I rack my brain trying to put a face to the name, it clicks after a moment, "Oh yeah! He was always pretty cute."

Emma laughs a bit, "Yeah we only recently started seeing each other, like a month ago or something. But it's the first time that I actually feel like I'll be able to love him the way that I love... loved Fred." She chokes a bit when she says Fred's name, "I'm sorry. It's been so long I don't think that I should feel this way about it anymore."

I put my hand on her shoulder and squeeze it, "You loved him. If I lost George the way that you lost Fred I don't think I would ever leave my bed no matter how many years have past."

Emma smiles sadly, "So is this it for you? George I mean, like are you two... it?"

We turn back around to face the Burrow and start walking slowly back in the way we came. "He said he wants to propose to me. Two of his brothers have kids now and seeing him interact with them literally made my ovaries hurt."

Emma and I both laugh, "Yeah love that's called baby fever. You want kids. You want his kids."

"I dunno though. I mean he's so ready to propose, to start a family or whatever but we've only been dating for like a month."

I don't have to see her face to know that she's rolled her eyes, "No, it's only been a month since you started dating again. You two were together since you were like thirteen. It's sort of magical and we're literally witches."

"Alright but we were kids back then. And we've broken up like three times in the past. Who's to say that it won't happen again."

Emma spins around and glares at me, "You two broke up because of a war Violet. There was a fucking war and you broke up. His twin brother died, your best friend died. And you didn't see each other for a while. You can't tell me that you stopped loving him when you two were apart."

"Okay but..."

"Don't you dare say 'okay but' to me Violet LeStrange. The man you love is alive, healthy, and has nearly all of his parts. Don't fuck it up because you aren't sure about shit because I don't want to hear it." Emma snaps.

"Where have you been the past two years? I need you around whenever I make big decisions." I say smiling.

Emma bumps her hip into me and we walk back into the Burrow just in time to hear George shout, "I WOULD HAVE MADE CAPTIAN IF IT WASN'T FOR THAT PINK OLD WOMAN!"


	190. Part 8, Chapter 5

Christmas has never really been a good thing for me, especially when Voldemort was staying at the Manor with us all. It brings back bad memories, awful memories, leaving me panicked for most of December.

It's also the first time that I'll actually be spending the entire holiday with the Weasleys and not randomly falling out of the sky and breaking my wrist on their dining table. Ginny is back at the Burrow, which means that Harry is around a lot. He's got a flat in London that he lives in but he and Ginny haven't moved in together yet.

It's late right now. Five days till Christmas, I think I'm the only one awake. I'm sitting at the dining table with a single candle in the middle of it. I'm wearing one of George's sweaters and a pair of his boxers sipping on a cup of tea and staring at a blank bit of parchment and a quill. I should write to my aunt and uncle. Tell them that I'm alright even though I don't think that they care very much.

"You good down there?" Ginny. She's standing on the stairs looking at me.

I shake myself out of the daze that I fell into and nod a couple of times. She comes down the rest of the steps and opens the fridge and pulls out the pitcher of pumpkin juice. She glances at me over her shoulder, "You writing a letter to someone?"

"Trying to." I grumble.

Ginny puts the pitcher back into the fridge and sits down on the other side of the table opposite to me. "Doesn't look like you're trying too hard. Who's it for?"

I chuckle to myself and put my cup down on the table, "My aunt and uncle."

Ginny grimaces, "yikes."

I pop my lips together, "Yeah... haven't talked to them since I left. I should probably tell them that I'm alive or whatever." I look at her, "Christmas is a hard time when you don't really have a family of your own."

"Well that's a tad offensive." She says smiling at me, "I'd like to consider you my family."

I smile at bit and shake my head, "You know what I mean... my mothers dead, my father is back in Azkaban, I don't talk to my aunt and uncle..."

"George tells me that Draco comes to visit you sometimes."

I nod and pick up my cup of tea again, "Yeah definitely. But he's got his own stuff to deal with right now, I don't want to be a burden."

Ginny rolls her eyes, "With the shit you've been through? The shit you were forced to do? You're allowed to be a burden sometimes."

I sigh and take a long drink from my cup and put it back down on the table, "Thanks Gin."

"Course. That's what sisters are for."

I laugh, "We aren't sisters yet."

Ginny wiggles her eyebrows, "Does that mean you've been thinking about marrying G?"

"I've always thought of marrying George, ever since I was like fifteen and that was ten years ago." I look at Ginny and she's got a massive smile on her face. "He brought it up the night before his big speech, told me that he was ready to propose right then and there if I wanted."

"Course he did."

I look back down at the parchment and I can see Ginny's smile falter a little, "You want me to go get George for you? So he can be here or whatever?"

I shake my head, "Nah he's been having trouble sleeping recently, I don't want to wake him."

Ginny nods a couple times, "You want me to stay down here with you? So I can be here or whatever?"

We both laugh a bit, "It's alright, go upstairs so you're well rested when Harry comes by tomorrow."

She smiles and gets up from the table and puts her cup in the sink. "Have a good night Vi. Love you." She says as she goes back up the stairs.

"Yeah love you too." I say quietly.

I look back at the empty parchment and sigh. I pop the topper off of the ink bottle and dip the quill in.

Hello,

I know it's been a really long time since we last spoke. I feel like the blame falls on both of our shoulders. This letter is rather hard for me to write and I'm not too sure why.

I guess I'll start with the obvious. I'm still alive. I've moved out of muggle London which I'm sure you're both thrilled about. But I am living with the Weasleys right now, and I feel like you would have preferred me to stay in the muggle world. But I'm safe. I see Draco quite often, he's safe too. I'm not quite sure if you speak with him anymore either.

I hope you are both well, safe, healthy. All those good things. I would like to thank you both for taking me in as a child and raising me like your own. Though we had ups and downs in our past I am sincerely grateful for you both. While you might not want any part in my future because of the people I am choosing to associate with I do hope that maybe one day we can be in each others lives again.

Merry Christmas,

Violet

I sit there staring at my handwriting. I feel like I should add more, but I also feel that I wrote too much and that it doesn't make sense. I wipe my face with my hand and sigh.

"You've got ink on your face." George says coming into the room.

I look up at him, "I told Ginny not to wake you."

George comes over to me and puts his hands on my shoulders, "You don't think I notice when you sneak out of bed in the middle of the night?" He kisses the top of my head. "Are you alright?"

I lean back into my chair and George starts massaging my shoulders a bit, "Better than I was... Christmas sort of sucks."

George bends down and kisses my ear, "That's cause you haven't spent Christmas with the Weasleys." He whispers. I laugh and sigh at the same time and George kisses my ear again, "Come back to bed with me."

"I've got to send this off first. I'll be up soon." I say breathily.

George sits down at the chair beside me and roll my head to the side so I can look at him. "You're not coming to bed are you?" He says softly.

"No I will. I'm just not really tired is all."

George kisses my cheek, "You're a fucking liar." He whispers. "I'll make some more tea." He kisses my cheek again and goes over to the sink to fill the kettle.

I watch him move through the kitchen in silent appreciation of his body. My head feels fuzzy cause I'm just so content right now, watching him make tea. It's scary how much I love him. Like I loved him when I was younger, course I did. But this is different, I'm more in love with him then I've ever been.

I get up from the table and walk quietly over to George. I wrap my arms around his torso and lean my chin on his shoulder, "I love you." I whisper. George doesn't say anything back and it takes me a solid thirty seconds to realize that he doesn't have an ear on this side of his head. I start laughing really loud and he spins around and puts his hand over my mouth.

"Shh its like three in the morning." He says with a smile, "What are you even laughing at?"

"Forgot you only had one ear." I say giggling, "I told your nasty scar that I love you."

George smiles, "Yeah I love you too. Not so much now, after you just told me that my scar was nasty."

I hop up onto the kitchen counter and sit beside the stove where the kettle is starting to boil. George stands in between my legs and puts his hands on my hips. "It's not that ugly. Kind of hot in a 'I battled my old professor and he cursed off my ear' vibe you know?"

George pulls me closer to the edge of the counter and I giggle, "You're such a fucking bully you know that?" He says quietly.

"Well who else is going to keep your massive ego in check hmm?" I say smiling like an idiot.

George rolls his eyes before he kisses me. The kettle starts to scream and he pulls away from me and takes the kettle of the burner.

"Good job Weasley. You're going to wake the entire house." I lean over and kiss his cheek before hopping back off the counter. "I'm going to go get Otis to fly this out to the Manor, when I come back you better have my tea ready."

"And what if I don't hmm? What are you going to do then?" George says looking over his shoulder at me with a smirk on his face.

"Dunno, might hex your other ear off."

George makes a sound like he's offended and I giggle before picking up the note and slipping out the front door.

It's really cold outside given it's December and everything. I try my best not to kick snow into my slippers so I probably look like an idiot walking through the darkness towards the small shed that the Weasley owls live in. I pull open the shed door and Otis and the Weasley's owl both look at me rather annoyed. I go over to Otis and smile at him a little.

"I know its Christmas but I need you to get this to the Malfoy Manor alright?" I say to my owl. He looks very annoyed with the whole situation. I tie the letter to his leg and fish out a treat from the pocket of George's sweater. He snatches it into his beak and hops out the window.

I step in the footprints that I've already made and make my way back into the Burrow. George has moved into the living room and has got blankets and pillows on the couch for us. He's flipping through a copy of Tales of Beetdle the Bard.

I smile and shuffle over to him, "I always knew you had the same reading level of a seven year old." I say.

"Listening to someone read always helped me sleep. Come here and let me read to you." He whispers.

George lies on the couch and I get butterflies in my stomach. I lie down on top of him and George covers us with a blanket. I bury my face into him and he starts reading. His words vibrate through his chest and into my head. I listen to his heartbeat, his soft whispering of children's stories. I can't help but smile a little. I stain my neck to kiss him on the edge of his lips not to disrupt his reading then curl back into his body heat.


	191. Part 8, Chapter 6

I wake up to clinking dishes coming from the kitchen. When I open my eyes I realize that I'm still on the couch with George. He's completely passed out, the book he was reading me has fallen onto the floor.

I very carefully untangle myself from George and cover him with the blanket again. Before I go into the kitchen I kiss his forehead.

"Oh, Violet I'm sorry if I woke you," Molly says turning around when she hears my footsteps.

I smile and shake my head, "It's alright Molly. You need help with anything?"

"Oh no, it's alright. I'm just going to make some muffins and fruit for breakfast if that's alright with you." Molly wipes her hands on her apron and smiles at me again before going back to work on the muffin batter.

"I was wondering... If Draco and his girlfriend could come by for Christmas dinner? I would really like my two families to interact and get along." I say after a moment. I sit down at the table and wait for Molly's response.

"Course it's alright dear, this is your house too and you can invite whomever you choose." She says without turning around.

It makes me feel all warm inside, knowing that Draco will be able to spend Christmas with a real loving family and not the cold stares of my aunt and uncle that we are both used to. For the first time in a long time the thought of Christmas doesn't freak me out.

The rest of the house is awake soon. George comes shuffling in from the living room with the blanket still around his shoulders. He comes over to me and covers me with it. "Hey beautiful." He whispers.

I look up at him and smile, "Hey..." He leans down for a kiss but I dodge him, "Don't you dare try to kiss me with your morning breath. You could kill a dragon with that."

"Killing dragons? Don't let Charlie hear you." Ginny says yawning as she walks into the room.

"Tell your brother to brush his teeth then." I say pulling a face.

George sits down beside me and rolls his eyes, "Right because your breath smells like roses." He looks at me, "But my love is bigger than morning breath, unlike some people."

Ginny snorts, "Merlin's beard George that was awful. How do you put up with him?" She looks at me with her eyebrows raised and I laugh.

"Dunno honestly. It's a real chore."

Molly laughs from her spot by the oven, "They sound just like you and Harry." She says to her daughter, "It's alright to be in love."

Ginny pulls a face of disgust which makes me laugh, "Yeah just wait till Harrys here for the holidays all it is 'oh my little chosen one you're so strong! You're so braaave. Killing Lord Voldemort like you did." George sways in his chair as he does his best Ginny impression.

Ginny pulls out her wand from Merlin knows where and points it across the table at her brother, "I'm take off your other ear in a second." She threatens.

"No wands at the table!" Molly shrieks looking at her daughter, "And ears are staying on please and thank you."

"Yeah Gin no wands at the table." George sticks his tongue out at her.

The front door opens and Harry, Ron, and Hermione walk in. Ginny gets up and goes to kiss Harry. George nudges me with his shoulder, "See? Harry doesn't care about morning breath."

I kiss my fingers and touch his lips with my hand, "That's the only kiss that you're going to get till you brush your damn teeth Weasley."

Arthur comes in the door not too long after the trio is seated at the table and we all start eating breakfast. Ginny and Harry keep looking at each other, muttering something, then looking around the table. It takes forever before either of them say something.

"So Harry and I sort of have a thing to say." Ginny says casually.

Everyone stops eating and looks at her. She turns to Harry and pulls a face like she wants him to speak.

"I proposed to Ginny... and she said yes." Harry says looking at everyone, mostly Molly and Arthur though.

Molly shrieks and gets up from her chair and goes over to Ginny and Harry. We all smile and cheer, "I'll kill you if you hurt her Potter." George says with a big smile on his face.

"When are you two planning on getting married?" Arthur says, he wipes a tear or two off his face smiling at Ginny.

"Well we were thinking in February? We've got to do it soon because I've got to get back to practice for the new season and I want to be married before then." Ginny says. I've never seen her smile as big as she's smiling right now. She kisses Harry on the cheek and he goes as red as her hair.

"Course we want to have it here, if that's alright with you Miss Weasley, Mister Weasley." Harry says, "Here's hoping that it doesn't end the same way Bill and Fleur's wedding did." He glances at me but doesn't say anything. I feel a twinge of anger deep inside me but I don't bother saying anything.

"Well I think it's high time that you start calling me Molly darling." Molly says to Harry before kissing the top of his head.

"Yes, I think that Arthur is fine. Now that you're going to be marrying my daughter and everything." Arthur says. He takes his glasses off and wipes them clean on his robes.

"Well now you've just stolen our spotlight." Ron says looking around the table.

Molly claps her hand over her mouth and widens her eyes.

Ron kisses the top of Hermione's hand, "We're engaged too." Hermione says giggling.

Another round of cheers and applause from everyone. Molly throws her arms around the two of them, tears falling down her face out of pure happiness.

"I'll kill you if you hurt her Ronald. That's my sister you're marrying." Harry says looking down the table at his best friend.

"Likewise." Ron says with a big smile on his face.

"Well we've got to celebrate some how!" Molly says.

Everyone is laughing and chattering, George is staring at me, watching me interact with his family. I can feel him staring at me but I refuse to look at him.

"Hows about we invite everyone over and put up the Christmas decorations like we planned." Ginny says, her smile never leaves her face.

Molly claps her hands together happy tears are still spilling down her face, "Our families getting so big!"

***

The rest of the Weasley family shows up in a couple hours. Arthur and Bill head off into the nearby forest to cut down a tree. I'm sitting on the ground playing with baby Molly and Victoire as the other Weasleys go help Molly pull all of the decoration boxes out of the attic. Fleur is sitting on the couch slowly rocking little Dominique back and forth in her arms.

"Violet, we 'ave not 'ad much time to talk just ze two of us." Fleur says quietly.

I look up at her and smile, "No I suppose we haven't."

Fleur looks at me, "I 'ave 'eard about ze zings zat you 'ad to do during ze war. You are very strong. George is lucky."

I smile at her, "You're the one that competed in the Triwizard Tournament. I don't think I could have ever done that no matter how much someone offered."

Fleur smiles, "I guess zat ze Weasley boys 'ave a specific taste no? Strong women who know 'ow to zink for zemselves."

"They were raised by Molly and have Ginny as a sister. I don't think that they are allowed to be attracted to any other kind of woman."

Fleur laughs, "You are lucky zat Molly likes you. It took 'er a long time to finally accept zat Bill and I were in love."

"Yeah I heard, I'm sorry that you had to fight so hard to get her to like you. You didn't deserve all that." I say.

Victoire hands me a doll very carefully, "Play with me." She says. She's got a hint of her mothers accent which completely melts my heart. I move the doll around on the floor as I talk to Fleur. Molly's got one of the dolls in her mouth and she's chewing on its foot.

"I've been meaning to say. Sorry I ruined your wedding the way I did. Making that announcement."

Fleur looks confused, "You did not ruin ze wedding. You saved lives zat day. My family was zere, zanks to you, zey all went 'ome in one piece."

George comes down the stairs and puts the big box he's carrying down on the kitchen table, "Having fun over there baby? Must be nice not having to lift boxes up like five flights of stairs."

I get up and go over to him and wrap my arms around his neck, "Do you know how hot you look carrying those boxes though?" I whisper into his ear. I kiss his earlobe and I watch his eyes roll to the back of his head for a second.

"How about you and I sneak off for an hour or so hmm? You can show me just how hot you think I am." George mutters softly. He kisses me gently. A small hand pulls on my pant leg and I pull away from George.

"Hey cutie pie!" I say picking Victoire up and sitting her on my hip.

She shoves a doll into my face and I take it in my other hand, "Violet play with me." She says sternly.

"Violet's going to come play with Uncle George for a little is that alright with you Vic?" George says. He looks at me and winks, he's got one of his fingers hooked in my belt loop and is pulling me closer to him.

"No! Violet is my friend not uncle George's." Victoire says. She crosses her little arms over her chest and gives George the sassiest face I've ever seen on a toddler.

I look from her to George and smile really big, "Guess I already have a playdate darling."

George looks at me and shakes his head but he's got a big smile on his face too. "Get used to it George, soon it will be your children." Fleur says in a sing song voice from the couch.

George groans a little and leans forward so his head is resting on my shoulder. Victoire pats him on the top of his head gently, "Uncle George is sleepy." She says quietly.

George stands up properly again and looks at his niece, "Uncle George wants to go to bed."

"Then uncle George should go take a nap." I say smiling. I peck his cheek and walk back over to the carpet where all the toys are set up. Baby Molly crawls into my lap when I've sat back down and I start to play with Victoire again.

When Bill and Arthur come back with the tree Victoire throws herself at her father and doesn't let go. Ron, Harry, and George help Arthur set up the tree in the corner of the living room beside the fireplace. Molly has started baking gingerbread men so the house smells like nutmeg and ginger.

Arthur turns on the radio and soft Christmas carols fill the air. George comes over to me, takes my hand and spins me around one time before slow dancing with me in front of his entire family. Harry and Ginny are cuddled up on the couch making popcorn chains for the tree. Ron and Hermione are playing a game of wizard chess which is mostly just Ron explaining how to play and Hermione pretending that she doesn't know how to play.

"Marry me." George whispers into my ear so no one else can hear.

Instantly butterflies erupt in my stomach and I can feel my face heat up, "Is that really how you're going to propose to me? Slow dancing in your living room surrounded by your family?" I whisper back to him.

George presses his forehead against mine, "No course not. That wasn't a proposal. That was me trying to figure out that when I do propose if you're going to say yes or not."

I smile and kiss the tip of his nose, "I'll follow you to the ends of the earth Weasley."

"Ditto."

I pull away from him a bit so I can look at him head on, "Really? Ditto? That's the best you can do?"

George kisses my lips softly, "Shut up LeStrange."


	192. Part 8, Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ***CONTAINS SMUT 18+***

George wakes me up at six in the morning on Christmas day with a cup of water splashed onto my face.

"Trying to drown me?" I shout wiping my face on my shirt.

George pulls his wand out and flicks it towards the bed and the water dries up instantly, "I need your help with my mum's Christmas present and you're a heavy sleeper." He says casually.

I roll over onto my stomach and put my pillow over my head, "It's Christmas day Weasley. It's a little too late for shopping." I groan.

George crawls onto the bed and lies on top of me, crushing me into the mattress, "I've already bought it, dummy, I just need you to help me finish it."

He props himself up so I can flip back around and face him. Our noses are brushing together, "I am not wearing a Santa costume." I say to him.

George kisses my lips quickly, "But you would look so hot with a white beard."

George bursts into laughter and I push him off of me, "God George!" I say laughing.

He pulls me on top of him and hold me against his chest, "So you'll help me if it doesn't include Santa Clause?" He says.

I wiggle out of his arms and sit back on my knees, straddling his waist. I put my hands on his chest and tap my fingers against his bare skin, "What do you need me to do?"

George looks up at me, "I mean with you sitting on my like this I can think of a few things I could get you to do." He says. I hit his chest and he laughs, "Alright okay I'm sorry. I want you to cut my hair and dye it back to red."

I tilt my head and look at him, "You sure?"

George nods, "I think its time yeah. And mum wants me to do it so I thought it would be a good present cause I didn't get her one..."

I hit him again, "You didn't get your own mother a Christmas present!"

"Would you stop hitting me woman!" George grabs onto both of my wrists so I can't move my hands anymore, "You didn't get her a Christmas present either!"

"Who says I didn't get her a Christmas present?" I say loudly, "I got both your parents a present. Least I could do given they've let me stay in their house for so long."

"Mind if I put my name on them too?" George says wiggling his eyebrows.

I roll my eyes and crawl back onto my side of the bed, "Come on, we better get your hair done before the rest of the house wakes up."

George rolls out of bed and pulls me along, down the hall, and down the stairs into the bathroom on the second floor. He sits backwards on the toilet and I drape a towel over his back so he doesn't get stray hairs all over himself.

"Fair warning, I've never cut hair before," I say snipping the scissors together a few times.

George laughs, "Cut it as short as you want darling, you're going to be the one looking at it all the time."

I roll my eyes and sigh but I've got a smile on my face. How could you not smile around George Weasley? I finish cutting his hair and I paint on the hair dye. "And now we wait for half an hour," I say looking at my handiwork.

George turns around and looks at me, "I wonder what we could do in half an hour?" He pulls me into him by my waist which makes me giggle.

"You're going to get red dye all over your mother's bathroom George," I say as he lifts my shirt a little and kisses my stomach.

"I'll be careful." He whispers.

He lifts my shirt higher, higher, till it's off of me and onto the floor. He smiles up at me, "God I love it when you don't wear a bra." He says in a deep voice.

I laugh to myself, "Now that I know that I'll stop wearing them then. They're so fucking uncomfortable."

George hums as he hooks his fingers into the bottom of my sleeping shorts, he tugs them down my legs and whistles quietly, "And no panties either? My oh, my Violet you really know what a guy likes."

He pulls me down towards him so I am straddling one of his thighs and he starts kissing up and down my neck. "Oh fuck, wait," I say, reaching across the small bathroom towards the sink where my wand is resting. I point my wand up into the air, "Muffliato." I say. A soft green light hits the ceiling and spreads down each of the walls before disappearing.

George hums, "We could have used that when we were back at Hogwarts." George says looking at me.

I grind my heat into his thigh a little, he's still got on his red flannel pyjama pants, "I don't care if people listen. I just don't want those people to be your family." I say. I continue to shift back and forth on his thigh, slowly riding him.

George looks down at where I am sitting then back up at me, "I don't even have to touch you to get you off eh?" He says with a smirk on his face.

I let out a shaky breath, "You were taking too long." I sigh, picking up the pace.

George puts his hands on my hips and digs his fingers into me, "This is the hottest thing I've ever seen." He starts to bounce his leg in the same tempo that I'm moving.

I moan loudly and start moving faster, George bounces his leg faster too, doing his best to give me what I need.

" Oh my god." I sigh. I hold onto George's shoulders for extra support as the knot in my stomach grows. "Fucking hell... mmm."

I open my eyes for a second and I can see George watching me ride his thigh, his length getting obviously hard in his pyjama pants. "Why so quiet darling? No one but me can hear you." He whispers into my ear. George tightens his grip on my hips, massaging my sides a little as he bounces his leg up and down.

"fuck me!" I groan loudly. I can feel myself getting closer and closer to release. I take one of my hands off of George's shoulders and start to pleasure myself to speed up the process, "Oh fuck George!" I practically scream. "God George, faster please!"

George does what I ask and starts to bounce his leg faster. He uses his grip on my hips to push and pull me back and forth along his thigh. "FU-UCK!" I moan loudly as I reach my climax and cum all over George's pyjama pants.

He slows down his leg movements as I ride out my high. I rest my head on his shoulder and try to catch my breath.

"I don't even know... that was... that was so fucking hot?" George says to me which makes me laugh. "I'm so fucking lucky to have you."

I pick my head up off his shoulder and kiss him hard on the lips, slipping my tongue in his mouth almost immediately. He groans into it which makes my sensitive core heat up again.

"You want to hop in the shower with me?" George says into my lips.

I laugh again which makes him laugh and pull away from me. "Course I do G." I say with a big smile on my face.

George stands me up and gets up himself, his left pant leg sticks to his skin cause I made it so wet. George laughs at it, "I can't believe you just did that. You amaze me you know?" He says as he turns on the shower. He looks over his shoulder, "Hot or cold?"

An hour later and George and I walk out of the bathroom, our hair wet from the shower. George's hair is back to the Weasley red which makes my heart do backflips. Before we head up the stairs and back to our room he spins around and kisses me, "Merry Christmas Violet." He whispers.

"Not that I'm complaining... but what was that for?" I say slowly opening my eyes again.

George points up to the ceiling which has a bushel of mistletoe attached to it.

Once we are dressed and George helps me cover the now very purple mark that he's left on my neck we carry down the presents that I got Molly and Arthur and put them under the tree. The Weasley family, along with Draco and Astoria, Lee and Walter, and Emma are all showing up at dinner time, which means that it's just me, George, Molly, and Arthur home for the beginning of the day given that Ginny wanted to spend the night at her fiancé's flat.

Molly is already in the kitchen cooking breakfast and getting things prepped for Christmas dinner. She told everyone to bring a dish so she's got more time to work on the big things like the turkey and the potatoes but she's not confident that any of them are going to remember, her words not mine.

"Merry Christmas mum." George says coming into the kitchen. She goes up behind her and kisses the top of her head.

Molly spins around to give her son a proper hug and gasps, "Look at you!" She says with a big smile on her face. She forces George to spin in a circle so she can get a complete view of his new hair.

"Did it just for you mum. It's your present!" George says smiling.

Molly grabs onto his face and pulls him down to her height so she can kiss his cheeks, "The best present I've ever gotten."

Once Arthur comes down from his room we all sit down to have breakfast. "Oh! I want to give you both your presents before the rest of the family comes over." I say, sort of choking on my orange juice. I get up from the table and dash over to the tree to get the things for Molly and Arthur.

"Violet honey you didn't need to get us presents!" Molly calls from the dining table.

I walk back into the kitchen and smile, "Course I had to get you two presents." I say smiling. I've wrapped the presents in the standard Malfoy gift paper, satin black paper with an emerald green bow. I pass them to the two of them and smile before sitting back down beside George.

Arthur opens his first. He rips the paper off like he's a little kid which makes my heart really happy, he pulls out a collection of books that I've got him, 'The Internet for Dummies', 'Electricity for Dummies', and my personal favourite 'Magic for Dummies.'

"They're muggle books. They explain things really well and teach you how to use what they're talking about. The internet, electricity, and muggle magic." I explain to him.

Arthurs face lights up, "These are incredible Violet! Thank you!" He starts to flick through one of them, looking at all the pictures.

"This paper is beautiful Violet." Molly says running her hand over top of her box.

"It's a Malfoy thing, all the presents I've ever gotten are wrapped this way."

Molly carefully takes the bow and the paper off, trying her hardest not to rip it apart. Inside is a sweater that I've been knitting. It's pretty awfully made if I'm being honest. I've been watching how Molly knits in her spare time over the past couple months and I made her a signature Weasley Christmas sweater with a big yellow 'M' in the middle of the purple sweater.

"Its not the best but I've been studying how you knit and I tried my best..." I say watching Molly.

Molly looks at me with the biggest smile on her face. I never noticed how much she looks like George, kind eyes, big lips, the same nose... "It's fantastic darling thank you so much. I can teach you how to actually knit if you want so that we don't have to watch me from across the room."

Molly and I laugh and I nod, "Yes please, so I can actually make you a presentable sweater."

George kisses the side of my face, "You're adorable." He mumbles into my ear

Molly pulls the sweater I've made her over her head and gets back to work on the food for tonight. Arthur has migrated over to the living room with all the books I got him and starts reading one carefully.

"I've got your present upstairs." George says to me.

I smile at him and bite my lip a little, "Thought we already had our Christmas present exchange..." I whisper to him.

George laughs, "No like I got you an actual Christmas present dummy."

He drags me back upstairs and sort of tosses me onto the bed. I sit up and watch him sort through his sock drawer before he pulls out a little brown leather box and tosses it to me. The same little brown leather box that he pulled out of his pocket when we were at Madam Puddifoot's years ago.

"You fucking kept them? After all these years?" I say looking at George. My heart swells just looking at George.

George's ears... ear, goes red out of embarrassment, "Course I kept them baby." He comes over to the bed and crawls over to me, "I hope it still fits." He lies down with his head in my lap looking up at me

I open the box and inside are two plain rings, a silver one and a gold one. I pluck the silver one out of the box and shove it on my finger, then I take the gold one out, grab a hold of George's hand and shove his on his finger. Instantly I can feel the slight pulse of his heartbeat in the ring. It soothes me. George looks at the ring on his finger then up at me, "You like it?"

"Course I like it dumbass." I say smiling.

George sits up, turns around and crawls on top of me, forcing me to lie down, both of us giggling. He lies his head on my chest and wraps his arms around my torso. He hums a little and squeezes me slightly, "If mum and dad weren't in love with you before, they definitely are now."

***

George and I spent the better half of the day cuddled in bed talking about stupid things and the occasional snog session. At around four o'clock that evening we headed back downstairs to make sure that Molly didn't need help with anything much to George's annoyance.

I see a car pull up in the driveway, "It's Draco!" I say happily. Because of Astoria's condition, they can't travel by Floo Network or apparition or anything because it would be too much strain on her body.

I rush out the front door and as soon as Draco steps out of the car I throw my arms around him, "I've missed you." I say to him.

Draco laughs a bit and hugs me back, the passenger door opens and closes and I let go of my baby cousin and look over.

Astoria is beautiful, she's shorter than Draco, with long brown hair that flows down her back. Her skin is pale, her cheeks hollow, overall skinny. But her eyes are bright and her smile is contagious.

I dash around the car and pull Astoria into a big hug, "Hi darling. I'm so happy you could make it." I say to her.

Astoria laughs, "It took a little bit of convincing but I insisted that we have to spend the holidays with family." She looks over at Draco with a twinkle in her eye.

"Well come on then. I want you to meet George." I say to her.

Astoria looks at me with her eyebrows raised slightly, "I don't think I've ever seen you this happy Violet. You're as smitten as a kitten."

Draco laughs, "You should have heard her when we were still at Hogwarts. It was awful."

I give Draco the finger and he laughs even harder. The three of us walk back towards the house, I've got my arm around Draco's shoulders. I push open the door and Molly, Arthur, and George are all standing there sort of awkwardly.

"Molly, Arthur... You've met Draco. And this is his lovely girlfriend Astoria Greengrass." I say introducing everyone.

Everyone hesitates at first, and then, "So nice to have you both here! Violet has told us so much about each of you." Molly says happily. She comes over and gives both Draco and Astoria a hug. Draco looks awkward at first but soon he's hugging Molly back with a smile on his face.

George, Astoria, Draco, and I all head into the living room and sit down.

"Is Mrs. Weasley always so... touchy?" Draco half whispers to me.

I smile and nod a bit, "Yeah, it's weird at first isn't it? You'll get used to it."

George looks over at us, "Weird?"

Draco and I laugh a bit, "Rule number one of the Black family, you don't show your children any love or affection." Draco says. We bust out into laughter, Astoria cracks a smile but George looks sort of worried.

We start talking, it's mostly Draco and George actually getting to know each other after all these years and Astoria and I talking amongst ourselves.

"Have you and Draco talked about marriage?" I say to her. Molly has brought us all tea and I pour myself a cup.

Astoria's eyes flick over to where Draco is sitting, he's having a rather in-depth conversation with George about business tactics. If I didn't know my cousin I would have thought he was looking to start his own business.

"We've spoken about it but I don't think it's the right thing to do. I don't think I have much time left. I don't want to burden him with all that." She says quietly, "And I know that he says he doesn't care if he doesn't have children. But I know him... I've seen him interact with my sisters child. He wants children and I don't think I can give him that."

I put my hand on her knee and look at her, "I have never see Draco so completely at peace and in love with someone before. Never not once. Sometimes the outcome is worth the risk." I say to her softly.

Astoria smiles and nods at me a few times. "Violet, Violet darling, the love of life. Will you please tell your cousin here that I am under no circumstances a sellout?" George asks me from across the room.

Astoria and I look over at the boys. They've each got smiles on their faces so I know that neither of them is being serious about anything. "I'm not getting involved in all that G. Fight your own battles," I say with a wink.

Bill and Fleur are the next to arrive. I introduce them both to Draco and Astoria. Once again there is a little hesitation between them all but after they sit down and start talking a bit, the conversation starts to flow smoothly again.

"Violet!" Victoire comes running over to me and I pick her up and put her on my lap. George looks over at me and smiles. I can tell that he gets the same feeling I get when I watch him interact with kids when he sees me interacting with kids. We would make cute babies...

Percy and Audrey arrive next, along with their daughter Molly. It's the same sort of awkwardness between Percy and Draco but it's cut short when Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Harry, Teddy, and an older woman that I've never seen before all arrive.

"The bloody hell is he doing here?" Ron spits as soon as he sees Draco.

Draco glances over at Astoria and I, and instantly I get into defensive mode. He looks just like he did when we were younger, scared of Voldemort. "He's my family Ronald. And you spend time with your family at Christmas." I say back to him.

I stand from my spot on the couch and George stands up too. He knows all too well how I react when it comes to defending my family. Ron looks at me, looks at his brother, looks at Draco who now looks very awkward. "We aren't at Hogwarts anymore." Draco says, "We're all adults, we've all changed. Let's start over."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all look at each other for a minute like they are having a conversation without words, "Molly makes the best Yorkshire pudding, everyone's got to experience it once in their lives." Harry says finally. The tension immediately dissipates and we go back to talking amongst ourselves.

George sits back down in his chair and pulls me onto his lap. I sit on him sideways, throwing my legs over the arm of the chair. I can't stop looking at the older woman though. She looks so familiar and so strange at the same time. She keeps making glances at Draco and me too. Then it hits me like a sack of bricks. She's our aunt, Andromeda.

She's sitting alone at a table in the corner of the room, just watching everyone and smiling. I kiss George on the lips quickly before crawling off of him and going over to sit at the empty chair at the table.

"You look so much like your mother..." She says looking at me, "It's strange, looking at her sitting in front of me knowing that she's not here anymore."

"My name's Violet." I stick out my hand and she shakes it, "I've been wanting to meet you for a while."


	193. Part 8, Chapter 8

After Christmas, the house was put into full wedding mode in preparation for Ginny and Harry's big day. Which means that George and I try to do everything in our power to be out of the house as much as possible.

"I love my mum, I really do. But when Bill and Fleur got married she was impossible to live with." George says as we are walking down the cobblestone streets of the little town beside the Burrow.

"It's only going to be worse this time around. Ginny's her only girl." I say smiling.

George groans and throws his head back a little, "You know. Fred said something when we were getting ready for Bill's wedding, 'when I get married, I won't be bothering with any of this nonsense. You can all wear what you like and I'll put a full body-bind curse on mum till it's all over.' That's what we're going to do. Everyone can wear whatever they want and mums just going to have to deal with it."

We both go quiet, the thought that Fred was talking about his wedding years ago... thinking that he was talking about marrying Emma... it hurts my heart and by the look on George's face it hurts him too.

"hey... look at me..." I whisper.

George stops walking and turns to face me, he's got tears in his eyes. He looks at me and smiles a bit. "Are you alright?" I whisper to him. I can tell that he's not in the mood to be outside anymore. His social battery is running low.

He kisses my forehead and sighs, "Yeah... I'm good."

"I'm getting sort of tired. Lets head home and take a nap yeah?" I put my hand on his cheek and gently brush my thumb against his lips.

George kisses my thumb a little and smiles, "Thank you." He whispers.

When we get back to the Burrow we manage to sneak back upstairs without Molly noticing. Her, Ginny, and Hermione have set up camp in the dining room planning flowers and other things. Neither Ginny or Hermione are very interested in it all but Molly is very excited about it all.

As soon as we get upstairs George pulls off his sweater and jeans and crawls into bed in his boxers. I pick up a book before I go over and sit on the bed. I lean back into the headboard and George moves over a little so he can use my thighs as a pillow.

Ever since the war I have a problem with silence, I hate it, freaks me out. So I've started to mutter when I read, not loud or anything, but it gives me something to listen to.

George shifts, "You whisper when you read." He says softly.

"Sorry. Draco hated it when we lived together. Said it was annoying" I say back to him.

George shifts again so he can look at me, "Don't be sorry. I like it, hearing your voice." He snuggles his face back into my sweater and it's not long before he's asleep, snoring softy.

The door creeks open and Fergus come trotting in. I watch him as he hops onto the bed and curls up on George's back. I can't help but smile looking at the two of them, looking at my little family that I've created. I play with George's hair with one of my hands while I hold my book with the other.

The door creaks open again and Molly sticks her head in, "Oh sorry, didn't mean to interrupt. Ginny was wondering if you could come downstairs for a moment."

I look down at George, sleeping peacefully, holding onto my waist, "He hasn't been sleeping great recently, he gets really bad nightmares. I don't want to wake him." I say back to her quietly.

Molly smiles at me, "I'll have her come up to talk to you then." She goes to leave then stops and looks back at me, "Thank you." She whispers.

I put my book down and look at her, "Sorry?"

"Thank you for giving me my son back." She whispers.

My heart melts, "Thank you for bringing me home." I whisper back to her. Molly smiles again before slipping out of the door. I pick my book up again but its not long before Ginny comes into the room.

"Why did I say that I was going to get married? Why in the world did I tell mum that I was getting married?" She huffs. She plops herself down on the carpet on the floor and looks at me, "Harry should have just listened to me, we should have just gone and got married somewhere far away and come back and told mum and dad."

I laugh and put my book down, "Imagine how awful your mum would be if you didn't give her a wedding to stress out about." I say to her.

She rolls her eyes, "Anyways. Can you be a bridesmaid for me?"

I smile, "Like matching dresses and shit?"

Ginny tosses a sweater that was on the ground at me and laughs, "Yeah like matching dresses and shit. It's going to be you, Fleur, Audrey, and Hermione. All of my sisters... though if I had it my way Audrey wouldn't be apart of it." She grumbles the last bit which makes me laugh.

"As long as you don't make me wear pink then I'm all for it."

George grumbles, "You're so hot in pink though."

Ginny ignores her brother, "When you two get married can you have it at the Malfoy Manor or something? So mum has some time to breathe?"

I don't answer right away, "Doubt it. Haven't heard from them at all."

Ginny's face softens, "You haven't?"

"No, I sent the letter the same night I wrote it and I never got a response. They haven't been speaking to Draco either, given he's dating Astoria and she doesn't have the pureblood beliefs and all." I look over at smile a little, "I dunno if I'm even on the family tree anymore."

Ginny looks at me with her head tilted to the side, "Is there a way to tell? Whether or not you're still on the tree?"

I shrug, "Only way would be to go to a Black house and check the tapestry."

"Then we go to a place that has the tapestry." Ginny says matter of factly.

I smile and roll my eyes, "Right cause it's that easy."

"It is that easy. We've still got number twelve Grimmauld place. Harry won't mind if you stop by there." Ginny looks at me, "Wouldn't mind if you took some stuff either. There's a bunch of china with the Black family crest and slogan on it if you want. Harry gets it, wanting to know your family. I'll double check with him when he comes over tonight but I'm sure that he won't care."

I smile, "Thanks Gin."

She gets up from the floor and wipes her hands on her jeans, "Course. So you'll wear a matching dress with all of the sister in laws and stand beside me as I tell Harry that I'll love him for the rest of our lives?"

"Yeah, I'll wear the matching dress and stand beside you."

Ginny looks relieved, "Perfect. I've gotta go down and tell mum that I don't want lilies on all the tables despite the fact that Harry's mums name was lily. That's weird right?"

"Yeah its pretty weird."

Ginny claps her hands together, "Thank you!" She walks out of the room and closes the door behind her.

George moves which causes Fergus to get annoyed and move to the end of the bed, "You're going to go to Grimmauld place?"

"I'm going to go to Grimmauld place."

"You need company?"

"Course."

***

The next day George and I get up before anyone else and make ourselves breakfast. Harry said that I could take anything I wanted as long as it wasn't in Sirius' room.

"Should I bring a box?" I ask George. I drink the rest of the milk that was in my cereal bowl and go over to the sink, "I mean Ginny said I could take whatever I wanted."

"How much stuff do you suppose you'll want?" George says looking at me.

I turn around and lean back on the sink a little, "I'll bring a box." I say firmly, "We're not driving right?"

George stuffs the last bit of toast into his mouth, "Apparition would be faster." He says with his mouth full.

I nod a couple times, "Best be off then." I pick up an empty cardboard box and look at George.

George comes over to me and takes my hand. In an instant we are in the entrance hall of number twelve Grimmauld place.

I take a deep breath and step forward. It's weird being here, knowing what happened here over the last couple years.

"They're back! The filthy blood traitors!" I can hear the shrieks of Walburga Black's portrait from somewhere deeper in the house.

I look at George, "I'll go get the tapestry. Could you go find some of the dishes and things with my family crest on them?"

George nods a couple times, "You sure you don't want me to come with you to get the tapestry?"

"I'm good." I say with a sad smile. I walk through the hall and into the office space that I once sat in with Sirius and Tonks, telling them how nervous I was about everything. They're both dead now. So many people are dead now.

I stand in the middle of the room turning around slowly, looking at the tapestry that is on all four walls of the room. I stand there holding onto myself for a minute. It's impressive, overwhelming almost, that every single face on these walls, dating back to the medieval times, had some part in creating me. I go over to the most recent branches, the gold thread is shinier, brighter, than the rest of the branches.

I see my mothers face, connected to my aunt Narcissa, and a burned patch that was once my aunt Andromeda. Draco is under my aunt, a bright gold branch attaching him to his family. My face is under my mother and fathers branches and I smile a little. I'm still there. I still have a family.

I put my finger tips on the tapestry and I swear I can feel it moving underneath my touch, like it's a breathing organism. I walk over to the corner of the tapestry and pull on it a little to see if it will come down. It doesn't budge. I pull my wand out of my ponytail chew on the handle of it a little, a habit that I developed when I was studying for my NEWT exams.

I step closer to the wall again and put my entire hand on the tapestry. It does the same strange breathing movement thing that it did before, "Violet LeStrange." I say my name out loud but nothing happens. I roll my eyes and try again, "Violet LeStrange. Pureblood. Here to take the tapestry down." Nothing.

I can hear George clinking dishes and things together in the kitchen. I shake out my hands and try again, "Toujours Pur." I mumble. The family slogan, French, meaning 'always pure'. The tapestry shifts underneath my touch. It moves and comes off the wall in places, folding in on itself. I take my hand off the wall and watch as the tapestry continues to fold up until it falls to the floor with a light thud. I take a really deep breath before going over to it and picking it up, draping it over my arm.

I go back out of the room and into the kitchen, George is looking at a plate with intensity. "Never seen a plate before there Weasley?" I say looking at him.

George doesn't stop looking at the plate, "It says something, but I can't figure out what it says, definitely not English."

"En stirps nobilis et gens antiquissima Black." I say casually.

George looks over at me, "Fucking what?" He says with a smile on his face.

"It's Latin, everyone in my family at least has to learn how to say that sentence in Latin. My mother was pretty fluent in the language actually, she tried to teach me and Draco when there was down time at the Manor but we were both awful at it." I put the tapestry on the kitchen table and go over to him and take the plate out of his hands and put it in the box.

"What does it mean?" He asks me, "it sounds pretty.

"Behold the noble lineage and oldest clan Black." I say.

George looks at me, "Doesn't sound so nice in English now does it?"

"Not in the slightest."

George pulls a picture frame out from the box, "I found this too, I thought you might want to have it. Or you could give it to Mrs. Tonks if not." He hands me the frame and I take it from him carefully.

It's a picture of my aunts and mother. My mother has got her arms around her sisters shoulders and they're laughing together, like a big happy family. I hold it to my chest and look at George, "Thank you."

George scoops the tapestry into the box and picks it up, "Ready to go home?"

"No."

"Want to go home anyways?"

"Yes please."


	194. Part 8, Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ***CONTAINS SMUT 18+***

Ginny's wedding is in a week, there are flowers everywhere, new dishes being brought in, chairs being delivered, tables being delivered, the whole thing.

"Does this fit alright?" The seamstress says to me.

Molly has hired Madam Malkin to do all of the dresses for the wedding. Right now Fleur, Audrey, Hermione, and I are all in the dresses standing on pedestals in the Weasley living room. Each of us wearing a floor-length, pale yellow dress with flowy sleeves.

"It's a little loose around the hips," I tell the seamstress. She nods and goes to work at refitting the dress around my hips.

"Yellow is not my colour," Fleur says looking at herself in the mirror that Molly has set up.

Hermione and I laugh and Audrey looks a little uncomfortable. Ginny comes into the room and smiles, "Sorry about all this guys."

Audrey looks at here, "These dresses are beautiful Gin."

Ginny smiles really big, "Can't believe in a week I'm going to be Mrs. Ginevra Potter." She scrunches up her nose a little, "It sounds weird."

"It sounds beautiful sister." Fleur says happily.

George comes hopping down the stairs and stands in the doorway of the living room, as soon as he sees me his face goes pink and he's got the biggest smile on his face. "Violet LeStrange, my Violet LeStrange in something other than black or green? I'm shocked."

Ginny hits her brother in the ribs, "Don't poke fun or she'll run away."

"Hard to run away when you've got me in this dress." I say to Ginny.

"Well I can arrange for you to be out of that dress if you want." George says coming over to me. The witch working on the dress mutters an 'all finished' as George kisses me on the lips.

"You two are insufferable you know that?" Hermione says, but I can hear the smile in her voice so I know she's not being serious.

"She's done, right? I can have my girlfriend back?" George says. He never takes his eyes off me as he speaks. His fingers intertwined with mine and he's looking into my eyes with that look that makes my heart flutter.

"Yeah, she's done," Ginny says. I take off the dress, leaving me in my yoga pants and a tank top. I had the dress to Ginny and turn to face Geoge with a big smile on my face

George helps me off the platform and he drags me upstairs laughing. I can hear Audrey downstairs, "Those two are next I can feel it."

George closes the bedroom door behind us, "You hear that? We're next." He says coming over to me, pinning me against the wall.

I hum, "Next huh? We'll see about that."

George smiles as he leans in and presses his lips against mine. Nothing rough or anything like that. Soft and innocent almost. George's hand snakes up my body and wraps around my throat, squeezing all the right places to make me dizzy.

Okay, so maybe innocent wasn't the right word.

"Slow down there Weasley, the hell's this all about hm?" I say, putting my hand over his and slowly bringing off my neck and down to my waist.

George smiles, "I can't kiss my girlfriend now?" He asks tilting his head to the side a little.

I laugh, "I'm not saying that. I'm saying, it's the middle of the day."

"Horniness isn't on a clock darling." He says softly before he starts to kiss me again. He reaches around to my bum with both hands and squeezes which makes me laugh. "Hop up." He mumbles and I do what I'm told.

He carries me over to the bed, never breaking the kiss. "Remember that time you tied me up?" George says to me, pulling away from my lips.

"Which time?" I say wiggling my eyebrows.

George laughs and hangs his head low so the top of his hair is tickling my nose, making me sneeze. "Gross! Sneeze all over me while I'm trying to be seductive!" George laughs rolling off of me and landing on the bit of the bed closest to the wall.

"No, I'm sorry. Come back over here and seduce me, George Weasley." I say pulling on his arm.

He laughs and rolls over on top of me. And I'm talking like right on top of me, not bothering to prop himself up or anything so he's crushing me into the mattress. He wiggles on top of me like a worm, "Am I doing it right? Am I seducing you?" He says which makes me scream with laughter.

He props himself up and looks at me, a big, goofy smile is on his face, "So... did it work?" His voice is a lot deeper than it normally is.

I half shrug my shoulders, "Not your best work if I'm being honest with you." I say casually.

George huffs, "What about this?" He says before biting down on my bottom lip and tugging on it a little. "Or this even?" He leaves a trail of wet kisses down my neck and towards the low cut neckline of my shirt.

I hum contently and George looks up at me, "Ah, see? Georgie's still got it."

We laugh together and I put my hands in his hair as he continues to kiss up and down my neck and across my collar bones.

He slowly starts to grind his hips into mine which makes my back arch and George laugh, "For someone who wasn't all too keen on being choked a few minutes ago, you do look like you're enjoying yourself." George hums as he kisses down the front of my shirt.

I prop myself up on my elbows to watch him as he lifts the hem of my shirt a little and peppers my stomach with kisses. "You're alright if I take this off yeah?" He says tugging at my shirt a bit.

"Yeah G.," I say.

George smiles to himself as if he won the lottery but doesn't want anyone to know about it. He sits up, straddling my waist and slowly pulls my shirt over my head. "I know I say this all the time, but you're really beautiful you know that?" He says, a goofy smile on his face.

I can feel blush creeping onto my face, "You're gonna make me blush." I laugh, pulling a pillow over my face.

George laughs loudly and pulls the pillow out from my hands, "Hate to break it to you love but you're already blushing." He hits me with the pillow playfully and we both start laughing like idiots.

"Take your shirt off, lemme admire you for a change," I say with a little smirk on my face.

"As the lady wishes." He says as he grabs onto the back of his tee-shirt and pulls it over his head. He flips me over carefully so now I'm the one on top.

I lean back and put my arms out in front of me like I'm measuring for a photo, "look at that. He's gorgeous!" I say with a big smile, George's ears go red. "He's George-ous!" I laugh hysterically at my own joke.

George swats at me with the pillow, "That was fucking awful you know that?" He says smiling up at me.

I lean over him, "awful huh?" I say, leaning closer and closer to his face.

George smiles at me and licks his bottom lip a little, "Absolutely fucking terrible." His smile has turned from the goofy idiot that I know and love to the hot and horny one that... well that I also know and love.

I brush my nose on his and peck him on the lips softly, humming as I do. I notice a shitty old muggle polaroid picture sitting on the bedside table and I snatch it up and sit back on my heels, still straddling George.

"Show me that George-ous smile of yours love!" I say bringing the viewfinder up to my eye and snapping a picture. The image comes out of the bottom of the camera and I shake it till it develops.

"See? Look how fucking handsome you are!" I say collapsing on the bed beside George and holding the picture out so both of us can see it.

George reaches across the bed and picks up the camera that I left lying there, "Vi look at me?" He says holding the camera up to his eye.

I smile really big and the flash on the camera goes off. George takes the picture out of the camera and pits the camera back on the nightstand. He rolls back over onto his back as he shakes the picture and holds it up for us to see, "Well would you look at that? It's the love of my life!" He says happily.

I hold the picture of George up beside his picture of me, "They would make cute babies, don't you think?" I say looking up at the pictures.

George turns his head so he's looking at me, I turn mine so the tip of our noses are touching. "Did you just say that?" He says with a smile.

I think about it for a second, "Yeah, guess I did."

"Wanna try to make one of those cute babies now?" He says moving his eyebrows up and down like in the really bad muggle movies that Draco and I used to watch.

"Suppose it wouldn't hurt," I say rubbing his nose with mine.

George rolls over and puts his hands on either side of my head so he can prop himself up, "Let me make love to you." He says quietly.

I instantly burst out into giggles, "Make love to me? What are you, fifty?"

George brings his mouth closer to mine, "You're going to be my wife one day so yeah, make love to you." He whispers.

I don't know why, but the way he said wife gave me all sorts of butterflies down there. He kisses my lips. All the passion and love that he's kissed me with before but I dunno, this time feels different, like we've become one being all of a sudden.

I wrap my legs around his waist and he smiles into my lips, "I love it when you do that." He mumbles.

"Why do you think I do it so often?" I mumble back.

George grinds his hips into mine, his jeans against my yoga pants. It creates a whole different kind of friction that makes the butterflies I felt earlier act up again. "Arch your back for a second beautiful," George says to me, pulling away from the kiss for a second to catch his breath.

I do what he asks without question and he reaches around my back with one hand and undoes my bra, tossing it to the side.

"Remember the first time you tried to get my bra off me? Took you longer to do that than it did for you to cum." I say as George starts to massage my breast with his hand.

"Oh god, why'd you have to bring that up?" He laughs.

George takes one of my breasts into his mouth and I moan kinda loudly. He stops what he's doing and reaches down to the floor, "Before I forget..." He says picking up his wand and casting Muffliato. He looks at his wand for a second then looks at me, "You know... this may come in handy." He says with a wink.

I scoff, "You are not putting that thing anywhere near my vagina till it has been sanitized and washed properly."

George shrugs and lets his wand fall back to the floor. "Not the wand I'm going to be needing if I'm trying to make a baby with you anyways." He says with a smirk.

"Oh god," I say laughing.

George tugs my yoga pants down my legs carefully, leaving me in my panties, and he undoes his belt and takes off his jeans so he's only in his boxers. I can see his growing hard-on from here.

George brings his mouth back to mine and kisses me open-mouthed, one of his hands traces the side of my body till it lands on my heat and slowly begins to rub small circles on it through my panties.

"You're hands are magic." I say breaking the kiss and arching my back towards him, "Are you a wizard or something?"

George tries really hard to hide his smile, "Fuck Violet would you just shush. Please." He starts to move his fingers faster and I turn into a mess of moans underneath my boyfriend.

"So wet you're soaking your panties." He whispers in my ear.

"All for you Weasley," I say back to him.

I swear on my life George growls when I say that, "Better be princess."

He tugs my panties off of my legs with one hand and I kick them away from us. His fingers are now directly on my heat, drawing slow and careful circles round and round.

"Fuck George you make me feel so good." I moan. "Let me make you feel this fantastic," I say to him, reaching one of my hands down towards his boxers. My fingers graze against his hard length and he breaths in sharply.

"Not today love. Today's about you, it's about the baby that we are going to make."

George takes his fingers away from my heat and I whimper which makes him smile, "Don't worry darling, I'm not quite finished with you yet."

George puts the fingers that were just pleasuring my core in my mouth and he takes his boxers off with the other, his erection finally free. I suck on his fingers and strokes himself a few times, his head falling downwards, a few moans escaping his lips. I can't help myself, I start to pleasure myself as I watch him pleasure himself. The two of us moaning in sync even though we aren't touching each other.

George looks up and smiles at me, "Like what you see?" His breaths are heavy, his hand still pumping his dick. He takes his fingers out of my mouth so I can speak.

"Love what I see." I moan out.

George chuckles, "Allow me." He says, letting go of his length and crawling back over to me. He puts his hand where mine just was and starts to rub my heat again, faster than before.

"O-oh fuck George!" I cry out, "I – need you, ple – oh fuck! Please!" I moan, the words falling out of my mouth like I have no control over my brain.

George watches me squirm under him for quite some time till he finally thrusts his length into me. Both of us moan together loudly. George brings his face close to mine, his length pumping in and out of my slow and rhythmic. "Kiss me," I whine.

George doesn't hesitate, his lips are attached to mine as soon as 'me' left my mouth. The hand that he's not using to prop himself up with is fondling my breast, playing with my nipple in the same rhythm that he's pounding into me. His moans vibrating off of my lips. Overstimulation never felt so fucking good.

I arch my back again and wrap my legs around his waist, pulling him into me more. We both gasp, the new position feeling oh so phenomenal.

"Fuck George! Y-yes! Right there, oh god don't stop!" I cry out.

George chuckles to himself, "Your pussy feels so fucking good around me like this. So fucking wet." He grunts, his head falling down into the nape of my neck.

"Faster! Oh, George please! Faster!" I rake my nails down his back which gets a very deep groan out of George as he picks up his pace, "fuck me! Just like that – oh God! Oh – yes!"

I dig my nails deeper into George's back and I can feel his length twitch inside me. "I – I'm so fucking close." He groans into my ear. That alone nearly made me cum.

"Do it, cum for me, fuuuuuck," I'm a mess at this point. George picks up his pace, hitting my g-spot every time he thrusts into me. I bite George's shoulder and he moans very loudly, making me cum. "oh – yes! Oh god yes!"

Hearing me reach my orgasm must have made George reach his because he buries his face right beside my ear, "fuck Violet, holy fuck! Fu-uuck!" Hearing him groaning and breathing this close to my ear is the best sound in the entire fucking world.

George pulls himself out of me and falls to my side. "If that didn't fuck a baby into you then I don't know what will," George says trying to catch his breath.

We instantly start cracking up and laughing. George pulls me into him and holds me close, "You're so fucking good to me." George says softly, he starts to play with a bit of my hair.

"shush, I'm tryna fall asleep," I mumble into his chest.

George laughs and holds me closer if that was even possible, "I'll be right here when you wake up darling."

On the day of the wedding, Molly woke us all up at six in the morning. She shoves muffins in our hands and sends us outside to set up a big tent, set the tables, finish decorating all the fun things we have to do before a wedding happens.

"Ginny's not even helping! It's her bloody wedding." Ron groans as he passes me another stack of plates for the tables.

"Because she's up in her room freaking out Ronald. Just wait, soon it'll be your turn and you won't be down here helping us set your tables." I say giving him a look.

Ron rolls his eyes, "You're gonna be before me. Everyone's talking about it."

"I haven't even been proposed to yet. You're the one that's got a ring on Hermione's finger."

Ron laughs, "You've got a ring on to genius."

I set the last plate down at the table and look at him, "This isn't an engagement ring. It's a promise ring."

"There's no difference."

"Course there's a difference."

We move off to the next table and Ron passes me five more plates, "I don't think I want to deal with all this crap when I get married. What if we all show up in pyjamas?"

I snort and Ron laughs really hard, "Molly showing up to your wedding in a onesie? I would die right then and there."

George comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my torso and kisses my shoulder, "Nothing like a wedding to get you in the mood hmm?"

Ron makes a gagging sound, "I'm right here George."

"Don't act like you aren't going to get all hot and bothered when you see Mione in her dress today." George says back to him.

I look at Ron out of the corner of his eye and he's gone a bright shade of pink, "Fuck off George."

"It'll be like the Yule Ball all over again only this time you'll actually be able to touch her." George jokes, "There won't be a big, beefy Bulgarian in your way."

"You're my least favourite brother you know that?" Ron says before walking over to Hermione and Charlie.

I turn around and look at George, "You're not a very nice person are you?" I say to him.

He puts his hands on my hips and sways us back and forth a little, "I think I'm the best person."

"Course you do." I say smiling. George pouts a little and peck his lips.

Molly comes down the pathway and into the big tent that's set up. "Alright everyone! Go get changed... look presentable!" She calls through the tent, "George, Charlie, I'm going to have you two at the end of the road making sure that people get to where they are needed to go. Violet, Fleur, Audrey... here give me baby Molly, and Hermione head on up to Ginny's room she needs all the help she can get. Ronald head up to your room and help Harry, I heard him stuttering over his vows not too long ago."

"Bill can help Charlie mum, Violet needs my help getting dressed." George says to his mother.

Molly flicks her wand at her son and he stumbles backwards, "Bill has to watch over all of the children thank you very much. And Violet is a very capable young woman. Now get going."

George rolls his eyes before pecking me on the lips and heading into the house. Fleur, Audrey, Hermione and I all head up to Ginny's room together. She's standing in the middle of the room with her hair and makeup done, in her night robe, staring at her dress.

"You alright?" Hermione says as we all walk in.

Ginny turns around and looks at us all. "I'm getting married."

"You're getting married." I say back to her. She smiles at me a little, "I've got a car so if you want to run we can run."

Fleur hits me in the gut playfully, "She will not run form 'arry! 'e is a good man and will treat 'er well!"

Audrey goes over to Ginny's closet and pulls out each of our dresses and hands them to us, "You two are an adorable couple. You're going to make adorable children one day." She says to Ginny.

Clearly that was not the thing that Ginny wanted to hear because she instantly gets panicky. She starts wringing her hands and shifting her weight side to side.

"Ginevra Weasley I will kick your ass down that aisle every step of the way if I have to. You have to get married so that I can get married." Hermione says as she slips into her dress. I help her zip up the back and she does the same for me.

Ginny nods, "Right okay, yeah. Thanks Mione."

The next two hours are spent getting everyone's hair and make up done. I suck at both of those things so Fleur helps me out a significant amount. Molly comes in before we all head out to make sure that we are ready.

As soon as she see's Ginny she gets teary eyed, "Oh darling!" She says smiling.

Ginny laughs a little, "Mum don't cry, cause then I'll cry and it took me forever to get my makeup done." She chokes a little when she talks which makes my heart melt.

Molly wipes her eyes and nods a couple times, "You're right, I'm sorry. Come on then, everyone's waiting outside."

We all look at each other one more time before we head out of Ginny's room and down the stairs. Arthur is waiting to walk Ginny down the aisle. He hugs her tight and says something to her quietly which makes her laugh. Molly hands us each a bouquet of flowers and ushers us out of the house.

There are so many friendly faces in the seats as I walk down towards the front of the tent. It looks like the entire quidditch team from when we were at Hogwarts is here Angelina, Alicia, Oliver, Katie, along with Luna, Neville, Seamus, Dean, Padma and Pavarti Patil. George is sitting in the front row watching me walk. I stand up at the front and wink at him before looking down the aisle at Ginny.

Harry starts crying when he see's her. Its soft tears but they're definitely there. Ron's gone all teary eyed too which makes my heart soar. She's beautiful, walking down the aisle holding onto Arthurs arm.

George watches me throughout the entire ceremony, which sends shivers down my spine. And when Ginny and Harry kiss George wolf whistles the loudest which makes the entire tent laugh. Then Harry and Ginny run down the isle while the rest of us laugh and cheer them along. I look over at George and he's got the biggest smile on his face. 

***

"And now I would like to ask Ginny and Arthur to come to the dance floor for the father daughter dance!" The musician that Molly hired says loudly. Everyone gets up from their seats and circles around the dancefloor to watch.

Ginny and Arthur walk onto the dancefloor hand in hand and they start dancing to the music. Arthur is an awkward dancer but Ginny makes up for it, she holds herself with such presence that no one really notices that Arthur is stumbling over his own feet.

"I love you." George whispers into my ear. He stands behind me and holds me against him, we sway to the music together slowly.

"I love you too." I hum.

Once the song is over Bill takes her fathers spot. A slower song plays. He spins her around the dancefloor gracefully, like something out of a fairy tale. No one can take their eyes off of them.

Then it's Charlie's turn. The song the band plays is faster. Charlie dances like his father, clumsy and not at all the right moves but they are both laughing and I can't stop myself from smiling. George holds me tighter and kisses the side of my neck.

Then it's Percy who dances with her. He's stiff, making sure that each of his moves is perfect but they've both got a smile on their face.

"My turn next, save my spot." George whispers to me."

Percy's dance is slower than the rest of them and then George steps from behind me and onto the dance floor. He looks at the band and nods. Very heavy rock music starts to blare from the stage making a few people jump. Molly looks very unimpressed but she gets over it quickly. George and Ginny start dancing in the most ridiculous way I've ever seen, throwing themselves at each other, completely off beat. The entire tent is roaring with laughter.

The music changes and George takes Ginny's hand and holds her close to him. They dance close together, so slow it sort of looks like they aren't moving. I can tell that they are having a conversation but no one can hear what it is. This dance is longer than all of the others combined. When the song ends they hold onto each other for a little while longer before finally George lets go of his baby sister and Ron steps in for his dance. George comes back over to me and he's got tear stains on his face that he's trying his best to hide.

"Are you alright baby?" I whisper to him.

He hugs onto my and sighs, "A dance for me, and a dance for Fred." He whispers. My heart breaks and I hold him tighter, tears welling up in my eyes too.

"You're a good big brother you know that?" I whisper.

George lets go of me and smiles, "Course I know that."

Once Ginny and Ron are finished there's a round of applause before Harry and Molly walk onto the dancefloor for the mother and son dance. It doesn't take a genius to tell that Molly is crying the entire time.

And finally, after the newly weds dance, the floor opens up so anyone and everyone can dance. George takes my hand and pulls me into the middle of the dance floor and spins me around like a million times making me laugh the hardest I've laughed in a long time.

"Is it bad that all I can think of is you in a wedding dress?" George says to me. The music has picked up and everyone is laughing and talking around us.

"It's your sisters wedding George." I say with a smile.

George laughs and spins me around again, "Yeah, my youngest sibling getting married before me."

"You'll get married soon enough Georgie."

George's eyes go big, "So you're thinking about it too eh?"

"Course I'm thinking about it George. Why wouldn't I be thinking of it?"

George's entire face goes red, "Alright then. I'll propose soon."

I hit his arm a little and look at him shocked, "You can't just say that!"

"Say what?"

"Say that you're going to propose soon! I need details!"

George sucks on his teeth, "But you don't need details though. It's supposed to be a surprise is it not?"

"I hate surprises." I grumble.

"I know but I'm a big fan of surprising people." He winks and I roll my eyes, "A healthy relationship means keeping each other on their toes."

After hours of dancing George and I break off from the now much smaller group of people and sit on the rickety old swing set by Molly's vegetable patch.

"You know, Fred and I tied Ron to one of these swings and tried to get him all the way around when we were kids." George says casually.

"You two really messed up that poor kid." I say smiling.

George laughs, "He was fine, just threw up a little. Mum had us weeding her garden for a month as a punishment." He moves the swing a little and it squeaks cause it's so rusty.

"All I did was send a knife soaring towards Draco's head but that was a one off." I say kicking off the ground and swinging back and forth slowly.

"Oh yeah just your normal everyday experience, sending knives towards your little cousins head." George laughs.

"Oh yeah just your normal everyday experience tying your little brother up on the swings and sending him through the air."

George and I both laugh and then fall into a comfortable silence. The soft sound of music and laughter coming from the tent, the sound of the swings squeaking as we move.

"Have you ever been star spinning?" I ask George after a while.

George looks over at me, "Star spinning?"

I nod and smile, "Draco and I used to do it all the time. You pick a star in the sky, and stare at it as you spin around in a circle as fast as you can till you topple over."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say. Lets do it." George jumps off the swing and lands a few feet in front of me. I get off the swing like a normal human being and go over to an empty spot in the grass. Thankfully the snow melted before the wedding actually happened, it's still pretty cold though.

"Don't stand too close to me or else we are going to knock into each other." I say to George. He smiles and nods before looking up into the sky. I watch him spin around in circles laughing the entire time, then he stumbles a bit and collapses onto the ground with a loud thud.

"Woah..." He whispers still looking up at the sky.

I look up at the sky and find a star to focus on. Then I start spinning, as fast as I can. The long flowy dress that I'm wearing tickles my legs and makes me scream laugh. I don't stop till I trip over my own feet and fall to the ground.

I look over at George and he's still smiling up at the stars, "You wonder if they're up there? Looking down at us or whatever?"

I look back up into the sky and sigh, "I don't think that they're up there, but they're with us still. Still floating around watching what we do and shit. Like the ghosts at Hogwarts."

George goes quiet, "You think he's at Hogwarts? As a ghost or whatever?"

"I want to think so yeah. Him and Peeves soaring through the halls giving McGonagall the sudden desire for early retirement." I say softly.

George looks over at me and I look over at him, "I hope he's there. When it first happened I wished that we had a portrait of him but then I would just feel bad, us aging and living our lives and he's stuck in there watching everyone change around him." George looks back up at the sky and takes a second before talking again, "If he's at Hogwarts then he will get to see his nieces and nephews grow up. They won't be alone." His voice cracks a bit.

"Are you alright?" I whisper.

"Yeah actually. For the first time in a while... I'm genuinely alright."


	195. Part 8, Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ***CONTAINS SMUT 18+***

After the wedding, it went back to just George and me at the Burrow with Molly and Arthur. It feels like there is pressure on George and me, to get engaged or married or whatever. I can't get what George said out of my head, 'I'll propose soon then.' Every time I think of it, it makes my heart flutter.

It's the end of March right now, a couple of days till George's birthday. He says he doesn't want to do anything for it though. That he just wants to lie in bed all day. I don't blame him. It's a bad day for us all. Molly says that he hasn't celebrated his birthday since the war.

"Can you teach me how to do that?" George says watching me from the bathroom door with a smile on his face.

I look at him through the mirror. "You want to learn how to braid hair?" I ask a little confused.

George shrugs his shoulders, "Yeah, it's a good skill to have. We might have a daughter one day."

My entire heart hurts when he says that. I fully turn around and look at him, "How are you so fucking sweet?"

George laughs and looks to the ground then back up at me, "So can you? Teach me?"

I take the finished braid out of my hair and grab the brush and a few elastics. "Come on then." We go downstairs and I sit on the floor in front of the couch so he can do my hair.

After explaining how to do it and demonstrating, George starts to braid my hair over and over and over again.

"Ow! God Weasley be careful!" I say laughing.

George kisses the top of my head, "Sorry, sorry." He takes the braid out of my hair and sighs, "They don't look good."

I look up at him, "It's alright if they aren't perfect darling."

"No it's not. I don't want my daughters to have poorly made braids their entire childhood." He brushes my hair again and starts over.

Molly comes into the living room and looks at us, "What are you two up to?" I can hear her smile in her voice.

"George is learning how to braid hair in case we have a daughter." I say casually.

Molly walks over to us and stands in front of me, "Are you...?" She whispers.

"Pregnant? No, no. He's practicing so that if we ever have kids he'll be able to do it." I say smiling.

Molly shakes her head a bit but she's smiling. "You remind me so much of Arthur and I when we were younger you know that? Do you want a snack or something?"

"No we're alright mum. Go relax and read a book or something." George mumbles.

Molly laughs, "Alright then." She heads back out of the living room, pauses in the doorway watching us, then heads out.

"You hear that? You remind your mum of your dad." I say to George, "You're going to go bald."

George tugs on my hair a little, "Will you love me if I lose all my hair and have to get glasses?"

"Hmm, I could deal with the balding but I might have to draw the line at glasses," I say joking.

George tugs my hair again, "You suck you know that?"

"Careful Weasley, keep pulling my hair like that and you're going to turn me on," I say quietly in case that Molly is within earshot.

George leans over my shoulder so he can talk into my ear, "How about we go upstairs then hmm?"

"Under one condition," I whisper. George hums in my ear, waiting for me to continue, "You've gotta wear a bald cap."

"I mean... yeah I guess?" George says awkwardly.

I laugh loudly, "You'd do that for me? You'd wear a bald cap during sex if I wanted it?"

George continues to braid my hair, "Yeah? I love you and all of your weird fetishes."

I hit his leg playfully, "My weird fetishes? Okay, mister breeding kink." George lets go of my hair and I can feel him lean back into the couch.

"Okay Miss sensory deprivation," George says to me, not very loud because his mum is in the other room.

"Okay mister 'get on your fucking knees."

"Okay Miss 'I like people listening!"

I turn around to look at George, he's leaning back into the couch and has got his arms up, resting his hands on the back of his neck. He's looking down at me with an amused smirk on his face, "You wanna go upstairs?" I ask him, putting my hand on his thigh and giving it a light squeeze

"Fuck yeah I want to go upstairs." George jumps from the couch and takes my hand, pulling me up off the ground and into his chest.

"Have you two got anything planned for today?" Molly calls from the kitchen.

George looks at me, "Should I tell her?" He whispers."

I swat his chest, "Don't you dare tell her!"

"We're gonna have a lazy day I think mum. No physical activity at all, just lying in bed reading a book." George says, he looks at me and winks and I swat his chest again.

Molly comes around the corner, "Alright then. I think I might go and visit your father at the Ministry so we can have lunch together."

"That sounds like a great idea Molly," I say kindly to her.

Molly smiles, "It does, doesn't it? Then it's settled. I'll see you kids for dinner." She says going back into the kitchen.

George takes my hand and drags me upstairs, practically tossing me into the bedroom that we've claimed as our own. As he walks towards me he casts the silencing charm and locks the door just in case Molly decides to check on us before she leaves.

"Breeding kink huh?" George says putting his hands on my hips.

I nod, "What else would you call it hmm?"

George hums but doesn't respond. Instead, he kisses my forehead and walks forward, guiding me to the bed. The back of my knees hit the mattress and I fall backwards giggling the whole time. "I want to try something new, are you alright with that?" He asks me as he crawls on top of me and kisses me deeply.

One of my hands flies to his hair while the other moves lower so I can palm him through his jeans. George sighs into my lips which sends heat down to my core. "What'd you have in mind?" I whisper, pulling away from his lips.

George smiles, "Be right back." He pecks my forehead a few times before he climbs off of me and leaves the room.

I sigh and prop myself up on my elbows so I can look at the door that George just walked out of. "This man's gonna be the death of me I swear," I mutter to myself, a smile forming on my lips.

George comes back holding a burning candle and a bowl of something. He carefully walks over to the bedside table and puts both things down. "Mums gone and left, it's just us home for the next couple hours." He looks down at the things he just left on the table and nods, clearly impressed with himself.

I strain my neck so I can see what the hell he's got with him, "A candle and some ice?" I sort of ask him.

He looks over at me, "Don't worry love, it's not going to hurt. Quite the opposite really." He claps his hands together, "Right then, get naked."

I laugh and fall back into the bed, "Christ George."

He takes a hold of my hand and pulls me up, so I'm in a sitting position. Then he pulls me up a little more so I'm standing, "Strip for me."

My eyes go wide but just for a second. I start to play with the hem of my shirt, slowly bringing it higher and higher up my body till I pull it over my head and let it fall to the floor by George's feet. Then, I spin around and press my back against him, my bum grinding into his length. He sighs deeply and puts his hands on my hips, holding me in place.

I undo my jeans and start pulling them down my legs, kicking them to the side somewhere. Then I sit on the bed, in my bra and panties and look up at George as I reach behind me and unhook my bra.

He smirks at me, his eyes falling down towards my chest. He kisses his teeth, "Look at you, waiting for me like that. Christ." He says in a very deep voice.

"Well, who else would I be waiting for hm?" I say leaning back on the bed a little more and opening my legs just a tad.

George groans and smiles up at the ceiling before coming over to the bed and kissing me hard, pushing me down into the bed. Our breathing gets heavier as he pushes his tongue into my mouth. He pulls away for some air and looks down at me, "Let me know if I hurt you and we can stop at any time alright?" He whispers.

I brush my thumb against his swollen lips and he leans into my touch, "Yeah." I whisper back.

George smiles and kisses my thumb before flipping me over so I'm on my back and he's sitting on my bum. I let myself relax into the bed and I can feel George moving around a bit getting whatever it is that he needs.

"Okay darling, stay still." He whispers into my ear before sitting upright again. It takes a second but suddenly there's hot wax dripping onto my back slowly.

It takes me by surprise and I gasp loudly and bury my head into the pillow. George stops everything, "Are you alright?" I can hear the concern in his voice.

"Fucking perfect." My voice is muffled from the pillow.

He chuckles to himself and slowly starts to pour the wax on me again. I moan loudly and I can feel his length on my bum getting hard. "God Weasley." I groan into the pillow. George stops, or he runs out of wax, I really don't know. All I know is that the next thing I feel is a freezing cold ice cube trailing down my spine slowly, tracing the spots where the still hot wax is.

I arch my back, "fuck George. Holy shit!" I cry out. The sensation on my back is making my heat ache for his touch down there.

George flips me over again so I'm facing him. I watch him as he slowly slides the ice cube into his mouth and he leans closer to me. He looks into my eyes to make sure that I'm still alright and I nod.

Then he kisses me, the ice cube still in his mouth. His cold tongue against my hot one. I moan loudly into his mouth and I can feel George smile against my lips. We kiss like that till the ice cube melts away. As he pulls away from me I bite his bottom lip and tug on it a little which makes him groan.

"You ready for some more?" He asks me, reaching over to the bedside table and taking another ice cube out of his bowl.

I sigh deeply, "Yes please."

George holds the ice cube between his lips and winks at me before he drags it down my jawline, down my neck, and in between my breasts. I squirm underneath his touch, trying desperately to get some friction on my heat. George brings the ice cube to one of my nipples and I moan loudly, "oh fuck." I press my head into the pillow and arch my back so I'm closer to George. He hums and it sends vibrations through the ice cube and onto my sensitive nipple which turns me into a mess of moans underneath him.

Once he's satisfied, George moves over to my other breast doing the same thing as before. With every moan that escapes my lips, I can feel his length growing harder and harder against my thigh. I buck my hips upwards but he pins me down with one of his hands.

He goes back and forth between my breasts till the ice cube is nothing but cold water pooling on my skin. He looks at me and smirks, "Getting a little impatient are we?" He says.

"Getting annoyed that you're fully dressed," I say looking up at him through my eyelashes.

He laughs a little, "Sorry darling I didn't notice. It's a little unfair isn't it?" He says.

"Very unfair." I bite my lip as I watch him pull off his shirt, his arm muscles flexing slightly as he moves around on top of me. He undoes his pants with one hand and shimmies out of them, letting them land on the floor beside the bed.

Before he takes his boxers off though he loops his fingers in the waistband of my panties and slides them down my legs. "So fucking wet already. I haven't even gotten to the good stuff yet." He runs his fingers over my heat and I moan out in pleasure, grinding my hips against his touch. "Be a good girl and pass me another bit of ice would you?"

I reach over to the table and hand him the last ice cube that we've got. George puts it in his mouth before grabbing onto my thighs and slowly pulling my legs open.

Just his hands so close to where I want him makes me moan. Before he does anything, George looks up at me and waits for me to nod.

As soon as his cold tongue hits my heat I cry out, "Ho-oly SHIT!" I put one of my hands in his hair as the other grips the bed sheets for dear life. "fuck George! Oh my god!"

He sucks and licks my heat. The mixture of the ice and the pressure of his tongue puts me in a state of ecstasy. "oh god – oh yes! Fuck!" I pull hard on his hair and he moans, sending vibrations deep into my core. He traces my entrance with his finger before slowly sliding it inside me.

"O-oh god! Yes! Fuck George God! Yes right – right there. Oh My God!" I'm a mess. George sucks hard on my heat and adds two more fingers inside of me, pumping in and out. I pull on his hair again, moving his head where I need him the most. His moans mix in the air with mine.

"Christ Weasley. Mmm oh my god! F-faster please god faster." I buck my hips upwards trying to get more friction. George moves his other hand from my thigh and reaches up to my face, putting his fingers in my mouth. I suck on them and moan against them as he picks up his pace down below.

"Jesus, oh god I'm so fucking close!" My voice is muffled by his fingers. He takes his hand away from my mouth and it closes around my throat, squeezing just enough for me to go light-headed. That feeling alone sends me over the edge. George pulls his fingers out of me and licks me clean as I ride out my orgasm.

He moves his face back up to mine and kisses me hard, making me taste myself, his breath is heavy, his movements sloppy. He pulls away and smirks, "You have the hottest little moan you know that? My name sounds so fucking good on these lips." He kisses me again, pushing his tongue deep into my mouth.

His length is rock hard in his boxers and I start to palm him through the thin fabric which makes him moan loudly. "Let's see how my name sounds on your lips," I say to him. George smiles and links his legs in mine, using the leverage to flip the two of us over so I'm on top.

I start to grind against his hips and he whimpers, "Violet, it hurts. Fuck me if you're going to fuck me. None of this teasing shit."

"What's the magic word?" I say playing with the hem of his boxers as I grind into him

George moans louder and his eyes roll into the back of his head, "fucking Lumos Violet. Just get on with it. I'm begging you."

I laugh airily, "that's what I was looking for." I hum as I pull his boxers down

Later in the day, I'm sitting at the dining table painting my nails. George has been up in our room doing god knows what for the past couple hours. He's been doing that recently, hiding out in our room for hours on end. He's also been inviting Ron over a bunch and they've been hiding out together.

George and Ron come hopping down the stairs and look at me, "What are you two planning?" I look at them as I blow my nails dry.

George and Ron look at each other, "Nothing... Nothing at all." Ron says as casually as he can with his ears turning pink.

"You're a bad liar Ronald." I smirk at him and his face goes as red as his ears.

George comes over to me and kisses the top of my head, "Brothers aren't allowed to have secret conversations now?"

I hum, "Course they can. But your brother looks guilty." I look over at Ron and smile, "Does it have anything to do with Hermione? Did you cheat on her?"

Rons eyes go wide, "What? No! I would never!"

"Ron knows that Mione is the best that he's gonna get, he wouldn't dream of cheating on her. Isn't that right Ronnie-kins." George says.

Ron rolls his eyes, "I'm going to head off. Let me know when that thing is ready eh G?" George nods at his brother, "Bye Vi."

"Bye Ronnie! Get home safe please!" I blow him a kiss and he smiles before heading out of the door. We can hear a rather loud CRACK! and he apparates off.

I look at George and smile, "G let me paint your nails."

George looks at me, "What? No I'm not letting you paint my nails."

"Pretty please? It'll look so good on you."

George steps back from me a little bit, "You're not painting my nails darling."

I get up from my chair and snatch the nail polish of the table, "Charlie always has his nails painted and it looks really good."

A flicker of jealousy crosses over George's face, "I'm not Charlie." He says matter of factly.

"No shit Sherlock. But it'll look good on you too!"

I walk towards him and George walks backwards away from me, "Give me your nails!" I shout before chasing after him. He laughs and sprints around the living room and dining room. He stumbles over his big feet and falls onto the couch. I throw myself on top of him, pinning him down.

"Fine god okay you win!" He laughs.

I let him sit up and I take his hand in mine, spreading his fingers out. I uncap the polish and wipe off the excess on the bottle.

"You go a little cross eyed when you focus you know that?" George says as he's watching me paint his index nail.

I look up at him and stick my tongue out, "Stop making fun of me jack ass."

"I'm not making fun of you! It's adorable."

***

May twenty-fifth. My birthday. George wakes me up with a hundred kisses all over my face.

"You're all old now." George whispers to me.

I open my eyes and his face is about three centimetres away from mine, "You're older than me hotshot."

"By a month."

"Still older than me."

"All this attitude is making me want to return your present."

I smile up at him, "Alright fine. I'm an old bat and you're as young as they come."

"That's all I'm asking."

George crawls out of bed and looks at me, "there's breakfast waiting for you downstairs. Mum helped me make it for you. Draco and Astoria are coming by later today for lunch but you're mine all night okay?"

I stretch my arms into the air and look at him, "Got the whole day planned huh Weasley."

George crawls back into bed and pecks my lips softly, "Anything for you, you old bat."

"You're on thin ice sir." I say sitting up. George hops off the bed and goes over to the door.

"Get dressed and come downstairs darling." He winks at me before opening the door and walking down the hall.

I figure that because it's my birthday and everything that I should probably get dressed and be presentable or whatever. I put on a black pencil skirt and a dark green blouse that has a droopy bow on the back of it. I brush out my hair and sigh, staring at myself in the small mirror that is on the wall. "Twenty six years old." I whisper to myself, "You look good."

I snatch my wand from the bedside table and stuff it into the waistband of my skirt so I have it with me.

As soon as I open the door all I can smell is cinnamon and bacon. I walk down the stairs and Molly, Arthur, and George are all sitting at the table. Just seeing them there makes me smile like a ninny. But my smile falters when I see a satin black package with a green bow sitting on the table along with a letter.

"What's uh... what's that?" I say softly.

George looks at the package then back at me, "It came this morning when you were still asleep." George says.

I ignore it completely and sit down at the table. George and Molly have made cinnamon buns, egg, bacon, the works. It's a fantastic breakfast. Arthur manages to pull off some muggle magic that he learned from the book I got him for Christmas which makes Molly all giggly and blushy, talking about how happy it makes her seeing him so passionate about something.

"Let George and I do the dishes Mol. It's the least I can do given you made me breakfast and everything." I say to her putting my fork down.

"It's your birthday Violet, you don't have to do anything of the sort." Molly says getting up and taking the dirty dishes off the table.

"Molly, I love and adore you. But you're not doing anything more for me today. You and Arthur should go on a walk, it's a beautiful day." I get up from the table and take the dishes out of her hands. "I'm serious." I say with a smile.

Molly smiles really big, "George if you don't marry her I'm going to get her to marry Charlie because there's no way I'm going to let this woman out of the family."

George comes over to me and his mum, "Charlie's going to have to get in line mum."

Molly laughs and she and Arthur head outside holding hands and giggling like school children. I fill the sink with water and soap and grab a sponge.

"You're joking. We're actually going to do the dishes? Like without magic..." George says watching me.

I nod, "I'll wash and you'll dry." I say smiling.

George picks up the tea towel beside the sink and grumbles to himself about the thought of doing chores without magic.

I pick up some of the bubbles and blow them at George's face. He scrunches up his nose and looks at me, "What the bloody hell was that for?"

I shrug and pass him the now clean pan, "I felt like it."

George twirls the tea towel up into a whip and hits the back of my legs with it with a loud SMACK! "Ow what the fuck Weasley! Mine wasn't violent!"

"Mine was far more enjoyable though." He says with a wink.

Nearly as soon as we finish the dishes I can hear a car horn from outside. I look at George and smile before running out with bare feet to meet Draco and Astoria.

The door swings wide open and Draco hops out with the biggest smile on his face, "I'M ENGAGED!" He shouts.

I stop in my tracks and look at him. Astoria is laughing as she gets out of the car and looks over at me.

"You're engaged?" I say softly.

Draco nods a bunch of times and looks behind him at his girlfriend... his fiancé... "I'm fucking engaged!"

I sprint over to him and throw my arms around his neck, "Holy shit! My baby brother!" I scream. Draco and I laugh together swaying back and forth. I let go of him and pull Astoria into a massive hug too. "Welcome to the family my love!" I say to her. She howls with laughter and hugs me tight.

"It's all thanks to you, you know. What you said to me at Christmas." She says into my ear quietly.

George comes out of the house and looks at us, "What are you lot yelling about?"

I let go of Astoria and spin around, "Draco's engaged!" I shout making both Draco and Astoria start laughing again. Astoria goes over to Draco and he kisses her cheek softly.

"Well I'll be damned. Congratulations you two!" George says happily. He comes over to the three of us. He hugs both Dray and Astoria which makes my heart soar. I never thought I would see the day that a Weasley hugged a Malfoy but here I am.

I peck George on the lips, "You just hugged my cousin." I say smiling.

"Yeah, what about it?"

Draco looks over at us and I smile, "The two rival families of the wizarding world, hugging each other? I never thought I'd see the day."

"You've made it awkward now." Draco laughs.

We all walk inside and sit around the dining table. Draco notices the package and letter that I haven't opened yet. I can tell he wants to ask about it but he doesn't say anything.

George pulls out a tin of cookies and puts the kettle on before he sits down at the table. "So when are you two tying the knot? Making it all official and shit?" George asks looking at Draco and Astoria.

"Either the end of the year or early next year. Something like that." Draco says smiling at his wife-to-be.

"It's going to be small for sure. Just my mother and father, my little sister. You two hopefully." Astoria says. She holds Draco's hand carefully.

"Course we're going to be there. I want to see this dummy in dress robes, looking all grown up." I say laughing.

"I've got a question for you." Draco says looking at me, "You want to be my best man?"

I smile really big, "In case you haven't noticed Draco. I am a woman."

Draco throws a bit of his cookie at me and I dodge it, "You know what I mean Violet."

My face hurts from smiling so much, my eyes get a little bit teary, "Course I'll be your best man dude."

Astoria and I start talking about wedding shit and George and Draco slip off somewhere by themselves which makes me really happy.

"He hasn't told his mother and father." Astoria says to me, "They write to him a fair bit but he doesn't even read the letters anymore he just tosses them into the fireplace."

"I wrote to them around Christmas and haven't got a letter back so if you think that I'll be the one to tell him to talk to them..."

Astoria shakes her head, "Oh no of course not. I can tell it hurts him. Choosing me over his family. I'm nervous he might regret it one day."

I put my hand on top of hers and pat it softly, "Trust me, darling, we're the only family that he wants there. Me and you. Our childhood sucked for many different reasons and my Uncle Lucius and Aunt Narcissa are one of the big reasons why. The other one being Voldemort." I say with a laugh. Astoria smiles but she doesn't look very sure, "We're the only family that Draco wants. You and me. And your parents and sister and the Weasleys hopefully."

Astoria laughs and before she could say anything else Draco and George come back into the room, both of them with a big smile on their faces.

Draco looks at the package again, then looks at me, "You going to open that?" He says.

I look at the end of the table and sigh, "Can you open it with me?" I say to him.

"Astoria! Let me give you a proper tour of the house, you didn't get one last time you were here." George says happily. Astoria looks between Draco and me before nodding and following George out of the room. Draco goes over and picks up the package and letter and puts it in front of me. He sits down on the opposite side of the table.

"Whenever you're ready there birthday girl," Draco says with a half-smile.

I roll my eyes and pick up the letter first, I read it out loud so that Draco can know what it says too.

Violet.

Thank you for reaching out to us. It is nice to hear from you. Your uncle and I have been worried about you, living amongst the muggles. They don't have a good history with witches and wizards.

I would like to apologize. For everything that we made both you and Draco do during the war, during the Dark Lord's reign. And while we feel badly for the things that we made you do, the lives you were forced to take. We do not condone a relationship between you and the blood traitors. We still love you and we both want to be apart of your life in some way, but neither of us plan on having a relationship with the Weasleys.

If or when you get married to the Weasley boy, we will not be attending, nor will we be helping pay for the ceremony. If it were up to your uncle you would not have gotten your mother and fathers inheritance but it's rightfully yours and you may do what you wish for it. However, I have decided that if you do end up with the Weasley, I will not take you off of the family tree. Though he is a blood traitor his family is apart of the sacred twenty eight and I respect that.

I hope this gets to you in time for your birthday but frankly, I have no idea where the Weasleys live or how far away from the Manor they are and our owl has been getting older. If this does reach you in time... Happy twenty-sixth birthday darling.

Auntie Narcissa and Uncle Lucius

I look up from the letter and at Draco. He's got a look of anger and disgust on his face, "I hate them." He whispers.

"I know you do. I do too." I whisper back.

He slams his hands on the table "After all these years? They're still talking about keeping the bloodline pure? Are you kidding me!?"

I let the letter fall out of my hands and onto the table, "Some people never change their views Draco... some people refuse to change, for anyone."

"For their own children! They won't change for their own bloody children!" Draco's got tears in his eyes now, "My children will never know their grandparents!" Draco takes a couple of breaths to calm himself down. "You're lucky your mother is dead and your father is locked up in Azkaban for the rest of his life. You don't have to worry about this crap."

Draco looks at me with wide eyes, "I'm... I'm sorry I didn't mean that." We look at each other for a little before bursting out into laughter.

I push the box a little closer to Draco, "You want a present?" I say to him.

Draco shoves the box back across the table, "Absolutely not."

We laugh again. I take a deep breath and pull the paper off of the box and pop the top off, "Oh my fucking god." I whisper.

"What is it?" Draco asks me peering over from his side of the table.

I don't know whether to laugh or scream or throw it halfway across the room. I pull out a picture frame from in the box, it's about the size of a muggle piece of paper. It a painted portrait of us all. Aunt Narcissa, Uncle Lucius, Draco, and I.

I slide it over the top of the table to Draco and he looks down at it. "Merlin's beard." He says. We start laughing again, really hard. To the point where we are both sobbing, but I don't know if it's because we are laughing so hard or if its because we are so broken inside and we just officially lost our parents. George and Astoria come back into the room and look at Draco and I and then at each other.

"Are they alright?" I can hear Astoria ask George.

George laughs, "Absolutely not."


	196. Part 8, Chapter 11

"George, where are you taking me?" George blindfolded me once Draco and Astoria headed back home, then he apparated the two of us away somewhere. He's carefully leading me through some street somewhere in the world.

"It's a surprise darling," George says to me. "We're nearly there."

He kisses my hand as we walk which gives me butterflies. Then we stop. I can hear him fumbling with a key ring, a lock click, a door swing open and chimes. He guides me, I assume through the door that he just opened. The door swinging closed behind us.

"Alright, you ready?" He whispers into my ear. It sends shivers all down my spine.

"Do I have a choice?" I whisper back to him.

He laughs and fumbles with the knot in the blindfold. It falls down around my neck and I gasp. We're inside the joke shop Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. I step forward a bit and spin around slowly, looking at everything. It looks just as it did when I first saw it, just covered in a thick layer of dust. The floorboards creak underneath my feet. I turn back around to look at George. He's got tears in his eyes, happy tears.

"What're we doing here?" I say softly.

George smiles, "I want to open up the shop again."

I walk back to him and wrap my arms around his neck, "You're serious?"

He puts his hands on the small of my back, "Yeah, very serious. I want to open it up again, move out of my parents house. Start my life up again."

"I think it's a fantastic idea darling. I love it." I whisper.

George smiles really big, "Good because I want you here with me. I want to run the shop with you as my wife."

Shivers, butterflies, goosebumps, the whole works. George lets go of me and gets down on one knee. He pulls out a small leather box and pops it open. Inside is a beautiful black ring. A black diamond sits perfectly inside a perfectly constructed rose shape in the middle of it.

"We met when we were eleven, and that first day when I helped you into that boat to cross the lake and get sorted I was smitten. And it only grew more and more since then. We've survived everything. The chamber of secrets, several crazy professors, a fucking war, and I want to survive everything else life throws at me with you by my side. I've loved you for more than half my life at this point and I know that I'll love you for the rest of it." George takes a shaky breath and smiles up at me. I've got tears falling down my face and I know I look like a complete mess right now, "Also its called Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, plural, so I'm going to need a business partner. So what do you say hmm? Be my wife?"

"You're such a fucking moron." I say laughing and crying all at the same time.

George smiles at me, he's got tears falling down his face too, "Would you say yes already my knee hurts."

I laugh and nod my head a bunch, "You've only been hinting at it for months now George. Course I'll marry you!" I fall to my knees and kiss him. Both of us are crying and giggling the entire time.

George stands up and helps me get up too, he pulls the ring out of the box and slips it onto my finger, "Promise me you'll wear both of them? Both rings?" He says, tears still falling down his cheeks.

"Course darling. I love you." I whisper. I put my hand on his cheek and brush his tears away with my thumb.

"I love you too." He says smiling. He pulls me in for a hug and sighs, "Ron's gonna help in the shop too. We've been talking about it for a while, he hates being an Auror and it would be nice to run this place with my brother again... my brother and my smoking hot wife."

I laugh and let go of him. "So we're moving out of your mum and dads?" I say smiling.

George nods a million times over, "There's a flat above the store. It's not very big but with a few magical enhancements I can add rooms and things."

"I don't need a big house to be happy George. I've got you."

George puts both his hands on either side of my face and kisses me, "You're going to make me cry all over again you twat." He mumbles against my lips.

George takes my hand and gives me a proper tour of the shop given the last two times I was here I didn't see much of anything. It's all covered in dust, the sweets are hard as rocks but by the look on George's face he doesn't care for a single second. He's pointing around the shop talking about the things we've got to get done before we re-open, ordering new ingredients, filling out inventory, "And I want to start a new line of products. For people that have PTSD from the war. Things like nightmare nougat that allows you to have a peaceful sleep, or cheering chocolates that will help you get out of a depressive rut and make you feel a million times better, oh and I want to make silent fireworks for people that get triggered from loud noises." George rambles on and on about all the new things he wants to make and flicking his wand in a million different directions as he does it causing accidental purple and red sparks to fly everywhere.

"Oh come on! You haven't seen the flat yet!" George grabs my hand and pulls me up the stairs. The shop itself has three floors, the fourth set of stairs is hidden behind a shelf and it leads up to the flat. George was right, it is really small.

"Mum and Dad came here and cleaned it all out after the war so there's nothing here anymore. This was my room..." He says pushing open the door. The room is very, very small. "And this one was Freddie's," He moves down the hallway a bit and pushes open another, equally small room, "Then the kitchen is in here and the bathroom is off the kitchen." He drags me down the hallway more and it opens up into a small kitchen. "But I want to pus the entire flat further that way..." He shoves both his hands towards the back of the flat, "So we have room to start a family of our own, cause I want to be close to the shop at all times. And I want to make my room... our room, a lot bigger. But I like where it is, you can see all of Diagon Alley from the big windows. I fought Fred hard for that room."

George looks at me waiting for my stamp of approval, his face is flushed, his hair is sticking up on the top of his head, but he's got excitement in his eyes, something that I haven't truly seen since we were at Hogwarts together. "I think it's fantastic darling. I love it."

George comes over to me and holds me close. We stand there together in the middle of our flat and I have never been happier. The letter that aunt Narcissa sent me today feels like a distant memory. I'll have a family of my own soon, a little business to run. For the first time in a long time, all is well.

***********************************************************************************************  
***ONE YEAR LATER July 10th 2004***

"Would you stop moving? Merlin's beard Violet." Emma says to me as she does my eye make up. I'm getting married in four hours. Four hours and I walk down the aisle and stand in front of George Weasley and vow to spend the rest of my life with him.

The door opens and Ginny slips in, making sure to close it behind her, "George is a mess and a half. It's taken both Walter and Lee to get him to stop pacing back and forth." He sits down on the bed and looks at me, "He's been muttering his vows the entire day."

I laugh and Emma hits me with the end of the makeup brush, "I said not to move!"

"Has Draco gotten here yet?" I ask Ginny.

"I saw him pulling in the driveway as I came up here. It's so weird seeing him be a normal person." She says with a slight laugh.

"Is Travis stopping by?" I say to Emma.

I feel her sigh on my face, "He's supposed to be. But he really doesn't like crowds too much. It's alright."

"I've never even met him yet you know." I say to her.

"We went to school together Violet, he was in our charms class." Emma says annoyed.

Ginny snorts which makes me smile. "I mean like I haven't met him when he's been your boyfriend. You've been seeing each other for like a year or something at this point."

There's a knock on the door and Ginny gets up and goes over to open it.

"Is she in here or did I get the wrong room?" Draco asks.

"She's here, you're good." Ginny opens the door more and I look up to see Draco all smiley and happy. He got married in January and ever since then he's been the happiest I've ever seen him.

"You look awful." He says to me.

I pick up one of Emma's brushes and toss it at him, "Shut the fuck up." I say with a laugh.

He picks the brush up from the ground and sets it on the desk beside Emma and I. "You feeling alright? No need to make a sudden escape or anything?"

"No I'm alright, feeling a little nauseous though." I say. Here's the thing, I haven't told anyone yet, not even George. But I'm pregnant, two months pregnant. Thankfully the weddings is when it is and I haven't started showing yet but that doesn't mean I don't have morning sickness. It's been really hard to try and hide all that from George but since he's so busy with getting the shop back into working order he hasn't been home much. I plan on telling him tonight, during the first dance.

"You two are so cute you know that?" Ginny says smiling.

Once Emma finally finishes my eye make up I look up at everyone in the room, "I've gotta tell you all something. You just have to promise not to tell George."

The three of them share a look before nodding in turn, "You're running aren't you?" Draco says smiling, "I knew you would do this. You never think that you are allowed to be happy. I thought we got over this V-"

"I'm pregnant." I say cutting off Draco.

Everyone goes quiet. Emma claps her hand over her mouth, Ginny and Draco's eyes both go wide.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now?" Emma whispers.

I smile really big and shake my head, "Dead serious." I say back.

"I'm going to be an uncle!" Draco shouts. He comes running over to me and throws his arms around me and holds on tight. I laugh and hug him back. When Draco lets go Emma throws herself on top of me too and starts weeping about being an auntie.

I look at Ginny and she's got a really big smile on her face, "I'm pregnant too." She says all in one breath.

"No fucking way!" I scream. I get up from my seat and give her a big hug, the both of us laughing together, "When are you due?"

"Early January. You?" She says into my ear.

"Late January."

She pulls away from me, "You're kidding me right?"

I shake my head, "Your mums going to have a heart attack." I say smiling.

Emma claps her hands together a couple times, "This is so fucking cute and I love every second of it, but Ginny's got to get her makeup and hair done, I've got to finish your hair, and then I've got to do mine, and you're getting married in three and a half hours so can we please stop with the big announcements?"

We all laugh and I sit back down in the chair to allow her to put on my lipstick, "I'm going to go check on Astoria. I'll be back in time to walk you down the aisle though Vi." Draco comes over to me and pecks the top of my head, "I'm going to be a fucking uncle." He whispers. He's got the biggest smile on his face as he leaves the room.

"I can't believe that you're pregnant." Emma says smiling at me, "I mean you've got a real live human thing growing inside you! A real live human thing that hopefully gets George's freckles." She finishes my lips and I blot them with a tissue.

"I can't believe we're both pregnant!" I say looking at Ginny through the mirror of the vanity that I'm sitting at. She's sitting in front of a wall mirror painting makeup onto her eyelids.

"So how are you going to tell George?" She asks me, "I told Harry as soon as I knew and he cried like a baby. Haven't told anyone else yet though."

I go into great detail about how I plan on telling George tonight and Ginny laughs really hard, "Remind me to keep my camera on me at all times tonight, I want to capture that moment."

Once my hair and makeup is finally done I move out of the seat so Emma can do hers. I'm standing in the middle of the room looking at my dress. I hate the colour white so George and I thought it would be amusing to have me wear a black dress and have him wear a white suit. Molly nearly yelled for two hours when she heard our plans but she got over it pretty quickly when I showed her the dress.

Three hours go by fast. I just zipped up Emma's dress and she turns around to help me with mine, "I haven't got a clue how I'm going to walk down the stairs in this thing." I say looking at myself in the mirror.

"I'll float you down the stairs if I have to." Ginny says with a smile.

I shake out my nerves as Emma pins my veil into my hair, "You look beautiful Violet. Holy shit... two of my best friends are getting married." She whispers the last part.

"I'll cry if you say that again so please shut the fuck up." I whisper back at her. She roars with laughter and Ginny pulls open the bedroom door.

"Ready when you are LeStrange." She says smiling.

When the three of us get down into the kitchen it's just Molly, Walter, Lee, and Draco standing there. Molly looks at me the same way she looked at Ginny on her wedding day which makes me start to tear up a little bit.

"Welcome to the family darling." She says with one breath.

"Thank you mumma." I say back to her. That does it for her, she pulls a handkerchief out of the pocket in her dress and dabs under her eyes.

"If I wasn't gay, and if you weren't marrying my best friend, I swear to Godric..." Lee says looking at me up and down.

"Fuck off Jordan." I say smiling.

Molly hands Ginny and Emma their bouquets of flowers before she rushes out the door to go find her seat in the front row. Lee takes Ginny's arm, Walter takes Emma's arm and they start walking out the door towards the tent that has been used for Bill and Fleur, Ginny and Harry, Ron and Hermione, and now me and George.

Draco comes over to me and takes my arm, "It's not too late to run you know. I've got a car." He says with a wink. He hands me my bouquet.

I roll my eyes, "What's your fascination with running? Marriage isn't all that it's cracked up to be?" I say as we start the walk down towards the tent.

"Nothing like that. I'm just making sure that this is a hundred percent what you want."

"It's everything I ever dreamed of." I say back to him.

Draco kisses my hand softly, "I'm so proud of you, you know that? My whole life I have looked up to you, aspiring to be you, and now you're finally getting your happy ever after."

I look up in the sky to try and stop myself from crying, "Draco I swear to god if you make me cry and ruin this make up."

We stop behind my friends. Emma spins around and looks at me, "Violet you're veil." She whisper yells at me.

Draco pulls a part of my veil over my head and Emma nods once and turns back around. The music starts and Ginny and Lee start walking down the aisle slowly.

"I'm getting married." I whisper to Draco.

"You're getting married." Draco whispers back to me.

Emma and Walter are next, walking just as slow as Ginny and Lee.

Then it's our turn. I take a really deep breath and nod. Draco and I start walking, everyone stands from their seats and turns around to look at me. Everyone that was in my house at Hogwarts is there. Miriam has got her daughter standing on the chair beside her so she can see everything. Cassius is making sure that she doesn't topple over. Adrian and Clarissa are standing awfully close to each other which makes me smile. Henrietta, Graham, Miles, everyone's here.

I focus my attention to the front of the tent. George is standing there, tall, strong, wildly handsome. He's grown his hair out again but it's still as red as ever. He's even got a little bit of facial hair. His suit fits him perfectly, it's a cream colour with black leaves and vines running all over it. My stomach is in knots. The ring on my finger suddenly starts pulsing very fast and it's safe to say that the ring on George's finger is doing the exact same thing.

When Draco and I finally get to the front he moves my veil away from my face and kisses my cheek, "It's not too late." He whispers in a sing song voice. I hit him softly and he laughs before kissing my cheek again and sitting down beside his wife Astoria.

I take a few steps forward and turn so I'm facing George, "Holy shit." He says loudly making everyone in the tent laugh.

"Right back at you there big guy." I say smiling.

The minister starts to talk but I can tell that George isn't paying attention and neither am I. All I can do is stare into his eyes. The knots in my stomach are replaced with butterflies and all I want to do is kiss him.

"Ahem." The minister says, snapping both of us out of our trances.

"You're going to have to repeat yourself, I haven't heard a thing you've been saying." George says making me laugh.

"It's vow time George," The minister says which causes another small round of giggles between all of us.

"Ah shit right. Violet. You're an asshole sometimes." He says confidently. Emma, Walter, Lee, and Draco all roar with laughter. "Thanks guys, I appreciate it." He says to our friends. He looks back at me, "You're an asshole, you're very bossy, you made me actually try hard at school and go to the library which still to this day blows my mind." Now everyone laughs. "But you're the best damn thing that has ever happened to me. It's gross and cheesy and you're going to make fun of me for the rest of my life because I'm saying this but as soon as you say down in our compartment on the train the first time we were all going to Hogwarts I knew I was going to love you. Honestly a small part of me is glad that Freddie isn't here cause he would have had a lot of stories about me talking about you." I get teary eyed when he talks about Fred, my heart breaks a little cause he's not here, "I love you dude, and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon."

He goes to kiss me bit the minister clears his throat again causing everyone to laugh.

"Violet?" The minister says.

I look at George, into his big eyes, his freckles covering nearly his entire face, his slightly crooked teeth, I take a deep breath, close my eyes for a moment and look at him, "Ditto." I say casually.

George is confused for a split second before he starts laughing, "You're kidding? Your vows are 'ditto?" He says.

I can hear Molly wail at the sheer stupidity, "Yeah... ditto." I say again. Lee snorts and I can see Walter hit him.

"well alright then. Consider yourselves married. George now you can kiss the bride." The minister says.

George wastes no time and dips me before kissing my lips with so much passion it makes my head spin. He stands me upright and winks at me.

"For the first time! I would like to announce Mister and Mrs. George Weasley!" The minister shouts. The entire tent breaks out into applause and cheers. George snatches my bouquet from me and throws it into the crowd making me howl with laughter.

The tent shifts from a ceremony setting to tables and chairs ready for dinner. "Fucking ditto." George whispers into my ear when we are sitting at the table.

I look at him and smile, "Not my fault you said everything that I was going to say."

George rolls his eyes and pecks me on the lips, "So Mrs. Weasley, does it feel different? Being married to me?" he wiggles his eyebrows a little.

"eh, not really." I say nudging him with my shoulder.

George laughs really hard and nudges me back, "See? Told you you're an asshole."

When the plates are cleared, Arthur, Bill, and Charlie send the tables and chairs to the back of the tent so the dancefloor is cleared off and ready for us.

We've got the same band playing that Ginny and Harry got, which I now know is lead by George's third cousin or something strange like that. George takes my hand and spins me onto the dance floor. At first we dance like complete morons, throwing our arms in the air, shimmying our shoulders, all that fun crap. But then we get serious. George puts his hands on my hips and I put my hands around his neck.

"I love you so fucking much Violet Weasley." George whispers to me as we dance slowly.

"I love you so fucking much Daddy Weasley." I whisper back to him.

George moves so that our foreheads are touching, "The fuck did you just say?" He whispers. He's got tears forming in his eyes and I haven't even said anything yet.

"I'm eight weeks pregnant." I whisper to him.

Instantly tears are streaming down his cheeks and he pulls me so tight against him that it's hard to breathe, "I'm going to be a dad." He whispers.

"You're going to be the best dad."


	197. Part 8, Chapter 12

Fred (Freddie) Weasley, Born February 8th, 2005

Ophelia (Leah) Weasley, Born November 27th, 2007 (eight minutes before her twin)

Cassiopeia (Cassie) Weasley, Born November 27th, 2007 (eight minutes after her twin)

Theodore (Theo) Weasley, Born August 13th, 2010

Annabeth (Annie) Weasley, Born April 18th, 2012

***August 31th 2016***

"Mum."

I open my eyes and look up into Freddie's face. By the looks of the clock on the wall its two in the morning. "Hey, bubba. Is everything alright?"

Freddie shifts from one foot to the other, "Can I sleep here with you and dad? The thunder outside is keeping me awake." He whispers.

I pull the covers off of me a little and pat the bed beside me. Freddie crawls up and over to me and curls up, our noses touching. George and I invested in a massive custom bed as soon as Leah and Cassie were born, for this specific reason, scared children and thunderstorms.

"You have everything packed for Hogwarts right? We've got to leave pretty early to get to the station on time." I whisper.

Freddie nods a bunch, "Yeah, dad double checked my trunk before I went to bed." He whispers back to me.

"Are you excited?"

Freddie shrugs a bit, "What if Louis and I get sorted into different houses." Louis is Fleur and Bills third child. Lucky Bill finally got a boy. Freddie and Louis are practically inseparable, to the point that Freddie's got a bunk bed in his room cause Louis sleeps over so often.

"Well Victoire is in Ravenclaw so you'll have someone to talk to if you end up there. Dominique is in Slytherin so you won't be alone there either, and Teddy is in Hufflepuff so you've got someone to talk to in each house." I whisper back.

Freddie rolls his eyes and I can't help but smile at the fact that he does that. He looks so much like his father but his attitude is a hundred percent me, "Alright but I want to be in the same house as Louis."

"What about James? Did you forget that he's going to Hogwarts for the first time too?" I whisper. James is Ginny and Harry's first born. He and Freddie have never gotten along very well.

"I would rather die then be in the same house as James."

I bump my nose against my sons, "Don't say that Fred. He's your cousin." Freddie mumbles sorry under his breath as the door creaks open again.

"Mummy and daddy are sleeping we can't wake them up." I hear Cassie whisper.

"I don't care! I can't sleep with the storm outside and neither can you." Leah whispers to her sister.

I prop my head up a bit and look at their two small silhouettes in the doorway, "Come on in, just be quiet, daddy was working in the shop all day with uncle Ron, he's really tired." I whisper.

"See? Told you it was fine." Leah says sassily before coming over and crawling into bed. Cassie follows and they wedge themselves in between George and I.

It's only a matter of time before my sweet little Theo pushes open the door. I look over and he's got Annie's small hand in his, "Mummy? Annie was crying so I thought that she could sleep in here with you and daddy." His small voice whispers.

"Course baby come here." I whisper.

Theo brings Annie over to the bed and helps her up. Freddie shifts over so that Annie can curl up into my chest. Theo looks at me from the floor, "You can sleep here too bubba." I whisper. His face lights up and he crawls up and over all of us so he can sleep beside George.

It's not long before the entire room is full of different snores. How lucky that all of my children inherited the Weasley snore. I fall asleep with a big smile on my face. My beautiful family asleep around me. It's hard to believe that my first born son is going off to Hogwarts in a few hours. Neville's a teacher there so he'll be fine. And McGonagall is headmistress now so there's really nothing to worry about. And Fred, Fred's ghost is there, floating through the halls making kids laugh and keeping an eye out for the massive clan of Weasley kids that will be attending Hogwarts in the next couple years. I've got nothing to worry about. He's going to have the time of his life. There's nothing to worry about...

Right?


End file.
